


Defying the Odds (A Forbidden Sins Sequel)

by Writerforquinn



Category: Impractical Jokers
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-24
Updated: 2019-09-09
Packaged: 2019-10-15 08:08:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 32
Words: 63,468
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17525006
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Writerforquinn/pseuds/Writerforquinn
Summary: Skylar and Q are back and ready to tackle new obstacles but will they do it apart or together?Sequel to Forbidden Sins Story, make sure to get the beginning story for these two before diving into this one!





	1. Chapter 1

Skylar tossed her suitcase on the bed to load more clothes into it. She had just finished all the laundry in the house so she had plenty of stuff to choose from for her 4 day work trip. 

She turned around to grab some toiletries from the bathroom and heard something behind her. "Excuse you." She laughed picking up the little black and white cat. Brooklyn snuggled under Skylar's chin purring. "Can't come with me." She said scratching the cat behind her ear. "But I love that you're gonna miss me so much." She smiled thinking how funny it was that this was the same cat that two years ago would hiss whenever Skylar entered the room. 

It then got her thinking how crazy it was that her and Brian had been together for two and half years now. Time really was flying. They had been living together since the chaos with Rocco, who was safely behind bars after he took a guilty plea, and never once had she regretted that decision. She still had her parent's lake house they tried to sneak away to as often as they could but with their busy schedules it wasn't as much as she would like. 

Skylar had been working for a world news program show for the past year which required her to travel to many different places to cover news stories. Her dream job was to always be a producer and when she was offered the position with a huge news organization she jumped at the chance. However with it covering global issues, not necessarily local, she was always on the go. Pair that with Brian's touring schedule, it was borderline impossible to spend time together the past few months. 

That's why she took advantage of any little time they did have. Brian had been away for the past three nights but was due home this afternoon which is why she was getting all her packing done now. She was leaving on assignment tomorrow morning and would be gone the rest of the week. Her phone rang on the bed and she plopped down to answer it. 

"Hi baby!" She answered. 

"Hey honey." Brian greeted his girl. 

"So I know you said not to stress myself out with picking you up but I finished all my notes so I'm gonna meet you at the airport. So just text me the gate info." She said. 

"Umm... shit." He muttered under his breath. "Kinda why I'm calling baby." He sighed. 

"Don't tell me." She said hanging her head in defeat. 

"We didn't get enough content. Gotta stay one more day to get everything done." Brian explained. Right now they were in Orlando shooting an episode and were scheduled to wrap last night but it just didn't go as planned. "There was this huge thunderstorm that set us back, we lost half a day yesterday." Skylar closed her eyes in pure frustration not even speaking. Deep down she knew this wasn't his fault but she was still pissed. "Hello? Still there?" He asked when she hadn't said anything.

"Yeah." She sighed kicking the suitcase off the bed in aggravation. 

"But I'm taking the first flight out in the morning and will be landing about 10:30 in New York." He said hopeful that he didn't plant himself in the doghouse. 

"Don't rush back, I won't be here." She said. 

"Whatta mean?" He asked now aggravated himself at her overreacting. 

"I'm flying outta JFK at noon Brian." She reminded him. 

"Wait, I thought that was next week." He questioned. "That's what you said when I asked you." 

"Yeah it was next week when you asked me last week." She answered. 

"Are you kidding? How long you gone for?" He asked now so frustrated that he had to stay in Orlando another night. 

"3 nights. Won't be back until Sunday evening." She said sighing loudly. This routine was getting incredibly old. 

"Can't you push it out a little further?" He asked. 

"Brian, a new pope is being ordained at the Vatican. How do you expect me to push that out?" She responded. Never once did she discredit what Brian did for a living but sometimes he really didn't understand, it was easier for an Impractical Jokers shoot to be moved around than a global broadcast program. She could just picture his face right now, his big brown puppy dog eyes pouting. It scared her how well she knew him. "Let me see what I can do, if we wrap early I'll try to take a red eye out Friday night." 

"I'm sorry this got messed up baby." He said feeling like the world's worst boyfriend. 

"Say it." She smiled. 

"Love you." He said relived she wasn't too mad. 

"Love you too." She said back. "I miss you though." 

"God I miss you too." He responded. "Any chance I can get some pictures." He said in a growl that always got her excited. 

"Well considering I have three cats currently looking through my soul, that might have to wait." She giggled. 

"Feed the babies and call me later. Love you. I'm sorry." He emphasized. 

"It's okay." She sighed and hung up. "I'm used to it by now." She said to herself after she hung up.  
________________________________  
"Thank you so much." Skylar thanked the desk attendant at check in. 

"Enjoy your flight Ma'am." She responded. 

Skylar pulled her carryon behind her and navigated through the airport. She swore sometimes she lived in airports. As she looked at the signs she tried to locate gate 12-B. Glancing at her watch she realized she had time for a quick coffee so she ducked into Starbucks. "Tall mocha latte please:" She said to the barista. 

"God are you predictable." She heard a voice next to her say. 

Skylar handed her debit card to the woman behind the counter and smiled brightly shaking her head. Looking to her left she saw Brian sitting on a stool. "Are you kidding?!" She laughed. "How the hell did you find me in JFK airport?" 

"Wasn't hard." He answered standing up. "I looked up your flight and then found the closest place to get coffee to your gate...and here you are." 

Skylar abandoned her coffee on the counter and wrapped her arms around Brian's neck. "You do realize you just made it 10 times harder to get on this plane right?" She then placed her lips onto his. 

Brian moaned into her kiss. "I'm sorry I ruined the plan." He said once he came up for air. 

"Things happen. We're both busy, I get it." She responded then immediately started kissing him again. 

"I love you Skylar." He said. 

"I love you." She whined against his lips. 

"Go cover this story and then get home." He ordered. 

"I will." She promised. 

"Say it." He smiled. 

"I love you Brian Quinn." She said. 

"I love you Skylar Thompson." He responded back. 

Brian glanced up at the clock realizing the time, she had to catch her flight. "You gotta go." He said pulling back.

With one final kiss to his lips she grabbed her coffee, "Thanks for the surprise. I'll call you when I land." 

"Go!" He said again this time with a spank to her ass. 

Skylar yelped grabbed her stinging ass and bit her lip. This man drove her insane without even trying. She just wished they would spend more time together.


	2. Neve Good Enough

"Morning Skylar." Brock greeted his producer. 

"Hey Brock, ready to head out?" Skylar yawned praying this caffeine kicked in fast. They landed in Rome last night and after an almost 8 hour flight Skylar went straight to bed when she got to the hotel. Now here it was 6am and they were leaving the hotel early to make their journey to Vatican City to witness the new pope coronation. For the first 9 months that Skylar had been working with World News, she was producing for a reporter named Sarah. However when she left for another network, Skylar was assigned to Brock Muir. He was a young reporter, only 26, and was still learning a lot but he was very nice and never gave Skylar any problems. Overall he was an easy reporter to work with. Skylar had heard horror stories from other producers that were forever complaining about their reporters. So when Sarah left and Skylar was reassigned she was nervous who she was getting next. 

On the drive over with Brock and the camera guy, Jose, Skylar glanced at the time. It was still midnight in New York and Skylar was debating if she should call Brian. She finally decided it was too late and slipped her phone back into her bag. 

"This place is incredible." Brock commented. 

"Huh?" Skylar asked being pulled from her thoughts. 

"The scenery is just beautiful." Brock said.

"Oh yeah, it is nice." Skylar said smiling. 

"You ever been here before?" Brock asked. 

"Yeah last year I came here on vacation. My boyfriend's mother is from Italy originally so we all came for a trip." She said recalling the trip she went on with Brian and his family. 

"My girlfriend and I watch his show all the time, man it is so funny." Brock said.

"Thanks I'll be sure to tell him." Skylar said. "I actually used to work for the show too believe it or not." 

"Really?" He asked. 

"Yeah that's how I met him, I was originally an intern." Skylar smiled remembering their secret love affair the first few months.  
Of course she was also a stripper who used to hook up with him as a client but that she would obviously keep to herself. 

"And you slept with your boss?!" Brock laughed, "Pretty freaky Sky." He laughed elbowing her in the side. 

She couldn't help but laugh along with him and think how right he was and he didn't even know it. Freaky didn't even come close to what her and Brian used to be.  
______________________________  
After a successful trip to Italy, Skylar was beyond excited to get home. As promised she took the red eye home Friday evening and landed in New York at 5am Saturday morning. However she may have told Brian a little white lie about not being able to fly out as planned. She almost cracked when she heard how upset he was but he was constantly tricking her so this trip it was her turn. 

As her cab pulled into the driveway she prayed he was still asleep. Very quietly she unlocked the door and placed her stuff down. The house was quiet and still so she assumed her man was still upstairs so she slowly climbed the stairs. 

When she pushed open the door to their bedroom she smiled. There he was stretched out, snoring rather loudly (definitely one thing she could live without), with the cats curled up on her side. After scooting the three pissed off cats to the floor she kicked off her shoes and pulled back the blanket. Skylar rolled her eyes and tried not to laugh when she saw her boyfriend in his Batman boxers. He never wore them around her because she always made fun of him. 

She saw him start to reach for the blanket in his sleep and realized she needed to get to work before he woke up and saw her standing over him like a creep. It had been 5 whole nights since they had last been in bed together and Skylar was more than ready to show her man just how much she missed him. Even after 2 and a half years they always made sure to keep their sex life hot.

Skylar very gently began to strip his boxers off and tossed them aside. His legs shifted a bit and luckily gave Skylar the opportunity she was hoping for. She sighed contently to herself when she saw her man stripped down. He still turned her on just as much, if not more, as that first night together in The Champagne Room. Everything about this man was sexy and it was all hers. 

Skylar lightly took him in her hand and began stroking him gently. Even still being asleep, his body reacted rather quickly and soon enough a sleeping Brian Quinn was rock hard. Dipping her head down, Skylar took him in her mouth and moved her tongue around the tip. She began hearing soft mumbles coming from the head of the bed. Skylar then brought Brian’s hard member all the way to the back of her throat and sucked. 

Brian was now moving side to side and starting to wake up. Opening his eyes but also realizing he was suddenly feeling amazing; he glanced down and saw the familiar head between his legs. He smiled to himself; his girl was finally home where she belonged. 

“Better hurry up before my girlfriend gets home.” He muttered letting Skylar know he was now awake. She stopped her task and gave him a dirty look. “I’m joking!” He laughed. 

“Oh yeah?” She smirked, “There better not be any other girls in this house.” She said as she pinched his side. 

“Ouch.” He winced feeling her nail digging into his skin. Suddenly Skylar felt herself leave the mattress and giggled as her boyfriend flipped over throwing her beneath him. “You wanna play like that huh?” He asked pinning her arms high above their heads. 

Just when he was about to get rough with her, he looked down into those bluish grey eyes that stole his heart so long ago and melted. He leaned down and kissed her softly taking her off guard. “I missed you.” He whispered into their kiss.

“God I missed you too.” She said still kissing his lips. 

Skylar reached down between them and took his cock in her hands again, “He miss me too?” She asked pouting her lower lip out. 

“He always misses you.” Brian said inserting himself directly into her waiting opening. 

“Fuck yes.” She moaned as he began to move inside her.

“Welcome home babygirl.” He whispered as he continued pounding into her. Hope the neighbors had to be up early because they were about to hear his girl yell his name awfully loud.   
________________________________  
Skylar and Brian laid next to one another trying to catch their breaths. Even after all this time Skylar still couldn’t get over how amazing this man was in bed. Brian pulled her close and looked at the clock before closing his eyes. “Still got plenty of time to go back to sleep.” He said kissing her forehead and getting comfortable holding his girl. 

“Plenty of time until what?” Skylar asked, almost afraid to though. 

“Comic Con.” He answered. “You are coming aren’t you?” 

“Comic Con? Briaaannn.” She whined, “What the fuck.” 

“What?!” He asked confused at her annoyance right now.

“You said you were off this weekend. That’s why I took an overnight flight so I’d be here for the morning.” Skylar replied. She hated flying at night, she could never sleep on them so it always threw her whole day completely out of wack. However when she knew that doing this would get her home with Brian for the weekend she didn’t care. 

“I’m not shooting the show or have any live shows but we do have a signing and a panel downtown.” He responded. “I told you this.” 

“Baby I don’t remember.” She said. 

“So you’re not gonna come?!” He asked now equally as annoyed as she was. 

“Brian I just sat on a plane overnight, I’m exhausted. The last thing I wanna do is sit at a comic con all afternoon.” She answered. 

“So we’re gonna be apart again? Seriously?” He asked. 

It took half a second for Skylar to crumble. One look into those big stupid brown eyes and she was mush. “Fine!” She growled, “Give me a few hours of sleep and I’ll go to your geek convention!” 

Brian’s only response was a sly smile. Wasn’t often that he got his way so when he did he celebrated internally. “We should both get some sleep.” He kissed her cheek and closed his eyes again. Before he could say another word he heard her softly snoring into his neck. “Welcome home baby.” He said out loud as he pulled her close. Letting her go never got easier but moments like this, where they where huddled together hiding from the world, did make those times a bit better.   
________________________________  
“Skylar!” Sal exclaimed when he saw her walking hand in hand with Brian. 

“Hey!” Joe said looking up seeing her. Murray smiled and waved as well putting his phone down to greet her. 

Skylar let go of Brian’s hand and hurried over to everyone. She hugged each of them so tightly. “God I miss you guys.” She said. Before landing her job, she was with these guys constantly on set or at the IJ office. In addition to that, with much more free time she traveled with Brian a lot more and attended most of the shows. Sadly those days were a thing of the past. She couldn’t remember the last live show she had been to. 

“You look tired kid, you okay?” Joe asked. His concern for her wellbeing was never gonna go away. At this point Skylar was learning to embrace it. The love that Bessy and Joe had for her was something special that she now appreciated. 

“Took a red eye in last night from Italy. Pretty tired but I’m fine.” She smiled. “I’m just happy to be home.” 

Brian had at this point put his stuff down and reached for her hand bringing it to his lips to kiss. Joe smiles at the sweet gesture. It was funny how life worked. Couple years ago and Joe would have lost it seeing that display of affection. However now he was happy to see it. Brian went through hell for Skylar and Joe’s doubts of his friend’s commitment to her were non existent. These two were one hundred percent in love and in it for the long haul together. 

“We gotta get out there for signings guys.” Murray interrupted. 

“You gonna stay back here?” Brian asked. Rocco was no longer a threat and hadn’t been for some time but old habits died hard and Brian still questioned her safety all too often. 

“Actually I might walk around for a little bit. I’ll get bored sitting back here this whole time.” She said referring to the dressing room they were in. “Text me if you get hungry and I’ll bring you back something.” She said with a kiss. 

“Be careful please.” He reminded. 

“You worry too much, it’s turning your hair grey.” She teased. 

“No that would be you that makes it grey smartass.” He threw back the insult with a playfully smack to the ass.   
________________________________  
Skylar had walked around for about an hour looking around at all the stuff. Even though she wasn’t into a lot of the comic book/sci-Fi genres she looked for stuff that she knew Brian would like and bought him things to add to his already massive collection. 

She decided to head back but before she did she slipped into the ladies room for a quick pee. Just before exiting the stall to wash her hands she heard two female voices and paused when she heard what they were talking about. 

“Did you see Q on stage?” One girl asked. 

“Yeah!” Her Friend answered. “So flipping hot!” 

“I saw him earlier walking with that girlfriend of his.” The first girl responded. 

“You mean the slut?” Her friend laughed.

“Seriously!” The other giggled, “I still cant believe he goes out with a stripper. So gross!” 

Skylar listened as the two girls exited the bathroom. Her fists were both balled up in anger. After Rocco was arrested, information flew out like crazy in the media. For weeks and weeks you couldn’t go on any gossip website without hearing about Q’s stripper girlfriend and how she got him shot. The fascination with their story didn’t last too long but every now and then it still came up. The majority of Brian’s fans were always super nice to her but every now and then, comments like she just heard where muttered. No matter how hard she worked and how successful her career became some people would always think of her as Q’s stripper. She often wondered if she would ever be good enough.


	3. Too Much Vodka...

"So where in the world is Skylar Thompson now?" Sal laughed patting his friend on the back as he took a seat at the bar next to him. 

"Vegas." Brian answered taking a sip of his beer.

"Sick location for a story." Sal said. 

"Not a story, it's some kinda media conference her network is sending her and a couple other producers to." Brian answered. 

"Buddy what's wrong?" Sal asked. He was started to see versions of the old depressed Q come back recently. 

"I don't know." He answered with a sigh. "This routine is just getting incredibly old. We never see each other anymore. Like I'm serious if we are in the same place together for more than 3 days it's a fucking miracle." 

The weekend she flew back from Italy was two weeks ago and they saw each other for two days before she flew to DC for a story then by the time she got back to New York, he was on the road for two nights. 

"You talk to her about it?" Sal asked. 

"And say what? Stop working?" Brian laughed sarcastically. 

"No." Sal said rolling his eyes, "But at least express how much it's taking a toll on you...and don't say it's not because I see it." 

Brian smirked as he tipped his glass back downing the rest of his beer. If there was one person who could always catch him in a lie, it was Sal Vulcano. "It wouldn't be so bad if both of us didn't travel. It's just the second one comes home, the other is out the door. But it's her dream job, what am I supposed to do?" 

Before Sal could answer Brian's phone rang. "Speak of the devil." He said as he answered holding the phone to his ear. "Hey babe." 

"Hi handsome." She greeted. 

"How's it going?" He asked. 

"Good learning a lot. What you doing?" She asked.

"Sitting with Sal at the hotel bar, having a couple before the show." Brian answered. Tonight they were in Santa Fe doing two shows back to back. 

"Hi Sally!" Skylar yelled into the phone. 

"What's up Sky!" Sal called out hearing her loud and clear. 

"I miss you." Skylar whined. Brian smiled he could tell by her voice she was pouting. 

"I miss you more baby." Brian responded. He could sense she was getting upset so decided to change the subject. "Going out tonight?" He asked. 

"I don't know, couple of the girls wanted to but I'm not so sure." She answered. "I'm pretty tired." 

"Oh come on, you're in Vegas. Go have some fun." Brian said. He knew his girl had been working non stop and needed a little fun. 

"They got a party bus." She laughed. 

"Oh come on." He smiled, "You'll love that!" 

"Yeah I guess." She said. "Just would be more fun if you were here though." She had only been to Vegas two other times before today. Once was for a Tenderloins show and the other was for her birthday last year. And both times they got completely over the top drunk and had the best time. 

"We'll go together soon. I'll plan something." He promised. "But seriously go, have fun." 

"Alright fine!" She laughed. "Call me before you go on stage so I can wish you good luck." 

"Say it." He smiled into the phone. 

"Love you." She said with a giggle; she would never grow tired of this game. 

"Love you Baby."He said then hung up.

Sal looked on hearing his friend's side of the conversation. "Never thought I'd see you pushing for a girl to go out and have fun." 

"She deserves it and I trust her." Brian responded before ordering another beer.   
________________________________  
Jillian: We are all waiting on you downstairs. Let's go! 

Skylar: On my way! 

Skylar downed her vodka and sprite in the room, checked her makeup one last time and headed out. She was meeting two producers from her network, Jillian and Maxie, who had been with the show much longer than she had, along with friends of theirs from other news programs. Brian was right, it seemed like a lifetime ago that she went out with friends and let loose. Maybe it was because for the longest time, her life centered around that type of stuff. Loud music, dim lights, and the whole club like atmosphere always brought her back to Sapphire and that was something she liked to keep in the past. 

"Skylar! Over here!" She heard a voice call out to her when she stepped off the elevator. She smiled and made her way over to Jillian. 

"Sorry I'm late!" She apologized. 

"That's okay, damn girl look at you!" Jillian exclaimed. Skylar was wearing a hot pink cocktail dress, the front was low and it was backless. Again something she usually didn't wear anymore but it was girls night! 

"Thanks!" She said accepting the compliment. "Where's everyone else?" 

"Already inside at the table, come on!" Jillian said leading the way inside the restaurant.   
_______________________________  
After dinner at the best Japanese restaurant in Vegas, a personal win for Skylar considering Brian refused to eat sushi so she rarely ate it, the girls walked outside the casino to meet the party bus. Everyone, Skylar included, were feeling the effects of their drinks with dinner. 

"Oh my god! No way!" One of the girls, Hope, yelled getting on the bus first. 

Skylar climbed on next and realized what Hope was laughing at. "There's a stripper pole on the bus!" Wendy, another friend of Jillian's, called out to everyone else who was still waiting to get on. 

Skylar smiled to herself shaking her head as she walked past it to take a seat. Life was funny sometimes. 

Maxie took her seat next to Skylar and being the drunkest one so far wasn't really thinking before she spoke. "You know Skylar here has quite a lot of experience on these things!" She laughed. 

Skylar immediately turned bright red, "Seriously?!" She exclaimed jabbing her friend in the side with her elbow. 

"It's okay, we're all friends. Who cares! I for one think it's awesome!" Maxine laughed. 

"Me too!" Hope agreed, "That takes so much confidence!" 

"Your boyfriend must find that such a turn on!"  Wendy added. 

Skylar took a sip from her drink she brought with her, "Yeah, guess he does." She laughed. If these ladies only knew the extent of it. 

"Her boyfriend is the hottest thing walking the planet too!" Maxine said, her speech stating to slur a bit. 

"Alright Maxine!" Skylar laughed. If her friend kept up at this pace, she would asleep before they made it to the club. 

"No disrespect, I'm just saying...Mmm! You are one lucky bitch!" She laughed. 

"Does he work at the network?" Hope asked. 

"No he..." Skylar began to answer but was interrupted by her friend yet again. 

"You know the show Impractical Jokers, it's Q!" Maxine blurted out. 

"The one with the long hair?!" Hope asked. 

"Well he recently chopped it off for the show, but yeah him." Skylar answered with a laugh when she saw the look of shock on the rest of the girls faces. She then thought back to when she first saw his head shaved. She had been away for work and he kept it a secret. When she saw him for the first time it was starting to grow in again and seeing him for the first time with such short hair instantly made her heart race. Now it was a bit longer but still short and Skylar was beyond obsessed with it. 

"I'm sorry but he is fucking smoking hot." Hope commented. 

Skylar bit her straw thinking of her man, "No need to apologize. He is!" She laughed. 

"So why don't you show us how it's done girl!" Wendy called out. 

"Oh no!" Skylar laughed shaking her head, "That's definitely not a good idea. Those days are over for me!"  
_______________________________  
Vegas was definitely the place to go when you wanted to let loose and party. The club they ended up at was a blast. The girls were doing shot after shot and after dancing for a little while decided to get back on the bus and see what else the city had to offer. Getting back on the bus the second time around was certainly different and everyone was yelling and laughing. Skylar even tripped going up the bus stairs and laid there for a minute laughing hysterically. 

As the bus drove around, Maxine decided to give the pole a try and requested the driver to play something good to dance to. Once the music started she grabbed hold of it and twirled around a couple times but failed miserably falling on her ass. 

Skylar was laughing at her friend's expense and was doubled over. "That's the worst pole dancing I've ever seen!" She managed to say through laughter. “And trust me, I’ve seen some really bad ones!” 

"Alright hot shot, show me how it's done!" Maxine insisted pulling Skylar's arm to get her off the seat. 

"Yeah! Go Skylar!" Jillian called out howling. 

With way too much alcohol in her system at this point she didn't even think twice as she got up and took Maxine's spot next to the pole. "Alright ladies, watch and learn." She laughed. 

Somethings in life are like riding a bike, you just never forget. Plus her and Brian still used the stripper pole she had bought for the house from time to time. Skylar twirled around with ease and danced along to the music. One of the other girls in the group had her phone out and started an Instagram video. "Go girl!" She shouted as she recorded Skylar dancing.   
_______________________________  
"Holy shit I'm tired." Joe moaned walking back stage. The guys had just finished their second show of the night and were beat. They always gave their shows everything they had so coming off of two shows tonight made the guys exhausted. 

Brian and Sal brought up the rear and basically collapsed on the couch next to Joe. 

Murr had a fan meet and greet with fans for his book launch so he was getting ready in the bathroom for that. He wanted to change into something a little more casual for it. Brian was currently listening to a pretty drunk voicemail from Skylar. He smiled, she sounded like she was having a good time. 

Joe could hear yelling coming from Q's phone and mouthed "Skylar?" 

Q ended the call and nodded, "Yeah she's out with some girls from work. She sounds wasted." He laughed. 

"She being safe?" Joe asked concerned. 

"I'm sure she's fine." Brian said as he started to type out a text to her. 

"Are you dating her or is Q?" Sal laughed. 

"I just want her to be careful, let's face it she hasn't made the best choices sometimes." Joe defended. 

"Joey, I'm telling you. She's fine." Brian snapped, this time a little annoyed. Joe Gatto was the most easy going person, except when it came to Skylar. Sal was right, if Brian wasn't worried why was Joe? 

"Umm...yeah looks like she's having a great time." Murray interrupted. "This is all over Instagram and Twitter." He said as he handed his phone to Q. 

Brian took the phone and read the post from a celebrity gossip twitter page Murray had up. Q's reformed stripper back to old ways?? 

 

He tapped the play button and his eyes widened when the video started. There was Skylar in a very short pink dress pole dancing on a party bus. All the girls she was with were yelling and laughing. All you could hear was "Go Skylar!" Or "Yeah girl!" He watched as she tipped upside down and slid down slowly. With the angle of the video and the short dress, it wasn't hard to make out images under Skylar's dress. He was just grateful she was wearing underwear. 

He was fuming. Murray quickly took his phone back in fear that his friend was about to whip it across the room.

"Is she fucking insane?!" Joe yelled. 

Sal kept his eyes focused on Brian. He wasn't talking but he had seen this look before, he was furious. 

"Jeff!!" Brian finally yelled out calling their tour manager. When Jeff poked his head in the room Brian turned to him, "Find me the next flight to Vegas now!" 

"Umm...ok? I'll see what I come up with." Jeff answered rather confused but did as he was told. 

"Looks like I gotta have a little chat with my girlfriend." He said then got up to get his stuff together. 

The three other Jokers exchanged worried looks. "Maybe I shouldn't have said anything." Murray commented now feeling guilty. 

"He would have found out eventually." Sal said. 

"That shit should be behind her. She can't be acting like this anymore." Joe said shaking his head disapprovingly. He was now debating in his head if he should call Bessy or not. 

"Q, got you flying out in 1 hour!" Jeff called out,  "With it being so late, you shouldn't have trouble at the airport but you gotta leave now. Flight lands you in Vegas in 4 hours." 

Brian looked at his watch, "Perfect. I'll see you guys back in New York." He said to his friends before hurry out the door. This wasn't a conversation to have over the phone. He was about to give Skylar a surprise visit.


	4. Waking Up In Vegas

It took some convincing but luckily the stars aligned and the desk clerk at the Venetian was a fan. Brian was able to convince her that his hotel room was under his girlfriend's name and he locked himself out of their room. After a few pictures, she made him a new key and he was able to get into Skylar's room. 

He looked at all her things scattered around but then his eyes fell to the nightstand. Resting next to the bed was a frame picture of the two of them. It was at the Jokers season finale party last year. Someone had taken a picture of them, Skylar was cuddled up on his lap and both were smiling at the camera. Anyone that looked at this photo could tell how in love they were. He had no idea she traveled with a photo of them. It didn't take away his anger completely but it definitely softened it. 

He sat down on the bed holding the photo. These past couple years Skylar had become his entire world. She was the woman that changed him and the one he envisioned being with for the rest of his life. However he was still upset with what he saw. As he got lost in his thoughts he heard noise at the door. 

Skylar was outside fiddling with her room key. She was drunk off her ass and was struggling to get the card in the door slot. When she realized it was 2am she decided to take a cab back to her hotel. 

When she finally managed to get the door opened she panicked when she noticed the lights on. She was positive she shut them off when she left earlier. Very slowly she crept through her room and was stunned when she saw someone sitting on her bed. "Oh my god!" She exclaimed startled. "What are you doing here?!" She asked when she saw her boyfriend. 

"We need to talk Skylar." He said placing the photo back on the nightstand and pulling out his phone. He scrolled quickly and pulled up the video, "Care to explain what the fuck this is?" He asked. 

Skylar scrunched her eyes and focused on the video. She saw herself pole dancing and laughed, "It was just a little fun. We were on the bus." She said. 

"Yeah well now it's all over the internet!" He yelled. 

Skylar was starting to get the impression that Brian was upset. "Are you mad?" She asked in a drunken voice. 

"Am I mad? Skylar, my girlfriend is all over the internet pole dancing!" He screamed. 

"I was just out with the girls." She defended. 

"For someone who is so set on forgetting their past, you were so quick to go back to it." Brian argued. 

"It was just something fun. Everyone asked me to show them some moves." She said, her eyes filled up with tears. Brian never yelled at her like this. "You act like you're ashamed of me." 

"I just think it's funny, you were so quick to cry to me a couple weeks ago when girls were insulting you for being a former stripper, but now here you are working the pole again." He said. "Skylar what if your bosses got ahold of this video, it could effect your career! My family could see this shit!" 

Skylar knew what Brian was talking about. A couple weeks ago at the New York Comic Con, Brian had picked up on her bad mood and when he questioned her about it, she admitted to hearing fans making fun of her for being a stripper. "It's Vegas, I was just trying to have fun." She said softly looking down ashamed of herself. 

"Don't start the guilt trip Skylar. I'm just trying to keep up. Do you want to forget your past or not?!" Brian exclaimed. 

"I just wanna go to bed right now Brian." She said fighting to keep her tears back. Tonight had been such a fun, carefree night and now here was the love of her life yelling at her. 

Brian didn't say another word. He disappeared into the bathroom while Skylar undressed and collapsed onto the bed.   
________________________________  
The next morning the sun shining through the window stung her eyes. Her head was pounding and her mouth was dryer than the desert. She glanced over and at first was confused seeing Brian snoring next to her. Then it all started coming back to her, he was waiting for her last night then proceeded to scream at her. She knew he had flown in from New Mexico last night after two shows so he must have been exhausted. So instead of waking him up and demanding an explanation she decided to slip out and find some breakfast to cure this awful hangover. The second day of the conferences wasn't mandatory like yesterday was so regrettably Skylar decided to skip it. 

She found a bakery downstairs next to the hotel's casino area and ordered a breakfast sandwich and iced coffee. As she waited for her sandwich she sipped on her coffee and flipped through the pictures in her phone from last night. She was definitely feeling the after effects but overall it was a fun night. It just sucked that now Brian was upset with her. As she started to dig into her breakfast and pray the grease started to ease her aching stomach her phone vibrated. 

Brian: Where are you? 

Skylar: The Aroma. Bakery downstairs, left of the elevators. 

Skylar sighed heavily, the last thing she wanted was an argument right now. She got up and orders an iced tea and bagel for Brian. He couldn't be too pissed off if she got him breakfast, could he? 

About 15 minutes later, a very tired Brian Quinn walked into the bakery and looked around for his girlfriend. He spotted her and walked over taking a seat. 

"Thanks." He mumbled when he saw a drink and food waiting for him. 

Skylar waited until he took a couple bites before speaking. The thing with Brian was you needed to address an issue at the right time, and doing it on an empty stomach was the absolute worst time. 

"You about done with your temper tantrum?" She finally said.

"Excuse me? Temper tantrum?" He questioned. 

"You flew from Santa Fe to yell at me and make me feel shitty about myself. Who does that to the woman they love?" Skylar said folding her arms across her chest and leaning back into her chair. Brian went to open his mouth but was immediately cut off. "No! I'm talking right now, you wait!" She snapped, "You've always told me how my job never once defined me. That you were proud that I did whatever was necessary to support myself."

"I am proud of you." Brian interrupted.

"Then start acting like it!" She barked. "I did nothing wrong last night. I mean if I got on stage somewhere and started having dollars thrown at me, I'd get you being angry but Jesus Brian I was on a party bus with girls I work with." She let out a deep sigh. "Sometimes you just don't get it." 

"Get what?" He asked. 

"Get how stressful and suffocating it gets to be attached to you sometimes." She noticed the hurt look on his face when she said that and realized she shouldn't have said that. "It's just sometimes I feel like I live in a fishbowl. Your fans can get a bit intense sometimes and I feel like they watch my every move and then go on these blogs and pages and ridicule me." 

"I didn't know you felt like that. You've never said anything before." Brian responded. 

"Because it's not your fault, so why bring it up?" She said as she focused her attention off to the distance. 

Brian biggest fear was starting to come to the surface. "Are you saying your life would be better without me?" 

Skylar whipped her head back towards Brian with a look for disbelief that those words even came out of his mouth. She quickly reached for his hand, "Never in 1,000 years do I think my life would be better without you." A small smile crossed his lips as he felt her stroke his hand. "Brian, you are my life. You loved me and supported me like no one ever had and still do everyday." 

"I'm sorry I overreacted." He immediately apologized. 

Skylar rolled her eyes, this wasn't the first time he did it and it certainly wouldn't be the last. "You drive me fucking insane, you do know that right?" She asked with a huge smile on her face. 

"I know." He laughed. 

Skylar leaned forward across the table and placed her lips to his. Brian immediately opened his mouth so his tongue could find hers and they welcomed their first kiss in what felt like forever. 

"God you're such a pain in the ass Quinn." She laughed when they finally broke apart. 

Brian took a bite of his bagel winking at her. Skylar giggled at the sight of cream cheese in his beard and reached over with a napkin to wipe it. "Can I say something now?" He asked. 

"What?" She groaned. 

"You look like hell!" He laughed, "What the fuck did you drink last night babe?" 

The argument had momentarily distracted Skylar from her hangover but now it was starting to come back to her again. "Pretty much everything." She groaned placing her head down on the table. 

"Be right back." He announced scooting up from the table. 

Couple minutes later he returned to the table with two shots of whiskey. "Have you lost your mind?!" She exclaimed. 

"Come on, hair of the dog. Let's go, bottoms up!" Brian encouraged. 

"Oh won't this look good." Skylar laughed, "Impractical Joker's girlfriend must go to rehab for drinking at 8 o'clock in the morning." She said mimicking her next social media headline. 

Brian shook his head trying to hide his smile, "Skylar just shut up and take the shot." He said raising his glass to hers. Brian quickly downed his with ease and then looked to his girl and laughed when he saw the disgusted face she was making. "That's my girl!"   
________________________________  
After breakfast and one more shot each, they made their way back to the room. Skylar had gotten a text from Maxine apologizing for anything she said last night. Skylar thought Maxine was a blast last night and promised to get together soon again, minus the stripper pole this time. 

Once upstairs they deciding to take full advantage of their time together in Vegas but first there was one very important thing on Brian's mind.

Skylar's suite included a massive stand up shower so while she was trying to clean up Brian entered and pinned her against the tile wall. 

"Hi." She smiled brightly feeling him begin to enter her. 

"Hi." He said softly as he enjoyed being inside her finally. 

"Not wasting much time are ya?" She giggled. 

His only response was a very clear "are you kidding me?" look as he continued moving in and out of her. 

"Oh baby." She moaned over and over again. Nothing on this earth would ever compare to this man and the way he made her feel. 

"God I missed you." He growled as he attacked her neck. 

Brian wasn't finished until he had her screaming his name and clawing his back. Once he had achieved that and knew she was completely satisfied he let go of his own release moaning out her name.   
________________________________  
Things always have a way of turning out for them. Because of a stupid video on line that infuriated Brian, he jumped on a plane and was now spending time with his girlfriend in Las Vegas. First stop was the blackjack table, at Brian's request. He could sit their all day and play and usually did if he was by himself or with friends but he knew Skylar was itching to do other things so he settled for a couple hours. 

Skylar really didn't mind, watching Brian sit there and concentrate was such a turn on, didn't hurt that he was pretty good at it and was winning. She was perfectly content with just sitting there sipping on her drinks and watching her man.

After leaving the casino, they walked around taking in the sights and just talked. It was like when they first started dating, when they would just hang out together. Brian was making her laugh and he was admiring how adorable she looked when she laughed so hard she snorted. During their walk they made a deal, things were gonna change. They both were gonna put in more of an effort in seeing one another. No longer were their jobs going to dictate their relationship. While they were sitting at a bar overlooking the Bellagio fountains, Brian did a little research and downloaded an app on both their phones that synced their schedules together. That way they would be able to coordinate easier before committing to something for work. They made a new rule, unless absolutely necessary they wouldn't go more than 3 days without seeing each other, even if that meant one flying out to see the other. It was time to make their relationship top priority again. 

The couple had been enjoying the day and Skylar could tell Brian was wanting to go back to the casino so she suggested it before he brought it up. Casinos meant free drinks, which the couple took full advantage of and were feeling pretty buzzed. Skylar was getting extra giggly which Brian was happy about. Drunk Skylar was always a blast to hang with. 

As the dealer was counting out chips, an ad on a nearby TV caught Brian's eye. Why had he never thought of it before? "Skylar?" He called out. 

"Brian?" She answered slurping the last few drops of her rum and coke. 

"Did you mean what you said earlier?" He asked. 

"What I say?" She asked. 

"That your life wouldn't be better without me." He responded reminded her of their conversation this morning.

"Of course." She answered wondering why he was questioning that again. 

He then pointing to the ad as it flashed across the TV screen again; Cupid's Wedding Chapel. "Let's get married then...tonight." He blurted out. 

"Excuse me Sir?" The blackjack dealer interrupted. "You wanna place a bet this game?" He asked.

"Cash me out, I'm done." He answered not breaking eye contact from Skylar. 

"Whatta say babe? Will you marry me tonight?" He asked again.

Skylar couldn't speak, all she could do was stare in shock at the man before her. Was he actually proposing?


	5. Bunnies Everywhere

"Skylar?" Brian finally said waving his hand in front of her face a couple times. "Hello? Skylar?" 

She finally snapped back to reality and blinked a few times coming back to her senses. "I'm sorry, I could have sworn you just asked me to marry you." She said shaking her head. 

"I...did." He answered. 

Her eyes grew wide in complete disbelief and then she did something that threw him for a loop, she bursted out laughing. She laughed so hard she choked on her saliva now breaking out into a coughing fit. "Have you lost it?!" She choked out. Brian banged on her back a few times until she stopped coughing and took a couple deep breaths. "Baby, we're in Las Vegas." She reminded him. 

"I know, I think it's perfect. Come on what's more Brian and Skylar but a spur of the moment wedding in Vegas?" He said trying to convince her. "I mean if that doesn't fit our entire relationship, I'm not sure what else does." 

"And your mother would absolutely murder us." She said jolting him back to reality. "And if she spared our lives, Bessy would kill us." A big smile came across her face. Marriage wasn't something they had really talked about in depth before. For years Brian was against the idea but falling in love with this woman wasn't planned and he knew down the line it would be something she would most likely want even though she didn't talk about it either. "You really think about marrying me though?" She asked, her smile still bright. 

"I want you forever Skylar. Pretty sure I've already made that clear." He said then lifted his shirt slightly revealing the scar he would carry for the rest of his life courtesy of a bullet from her old boss. 

Skylar rubbed her hand over his bare skin feeling the scar. He was right, if he was willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for her with his life, a wedding kind of seemed obvious after that. "We can't get married without everyone we love Brian. It wouldn't feel right and you know it." She leaned in and kissed him. "But the fact that you would makes me love you even more."   
______________________________  
Although unexpected, their time together in Vegas was fun. There hadn't been anymore mention of Brian's sudden marriage proposal but that didn't mean Skylar still didn't think about it now. 

So far they were working hard on keeping their promise to each other and hadn't been separated for more than 2 days. If their schedules had them on the road for longer, one would have a flight booked and ready to fly out. 

Today was Easter and Skylar was extra excited because it was the first holiday that she and Brian were hosting. All holidays up until this point had been split between Brian's family and Joe and Bessy's house. However with the sudden outburst of possibly getting married, it started to make Skylar think that maybe it was time to combine the holiday and get their two families together. After clearing it with Brian's mom and Bessy, Skylar jumped into full plan mode. For weeks she got the menu together, bought all new decorations, and made baskets for all the kids coming. Silently Brian watched thinking she was insane for putting so much work into one day but he played along and helped when needed. 

Fresh from the shower, Brian came down the staircase still buttoning his baby blue shirt. He paused with his mouth gapped open when he noticed the condition of the living room. There was Skylar sitting in the middle of the floor with 14 baskets and dozens of shopping bags. Fake plastic grass was thrown everywhere including the top of Brooklyn Cat's head who was also staring at Skylar in amazement. 

"What in the hell are you doing?" He asked. 

"Trying to get the kids baskets together." She answered as she rummaged through a Target bag. In addition to Bessy and Joe's two kids, Brian's nieces and nephews were coming as well as some of Joe's nephews. It was 14 kids and 12 adults coming, a full house indeed. 

"Why are you going crazy making these again?Isn't this their parents' job?" Brian asked as he picked fake grass from his cat's fur. 

"This is the first holiday we're hosting. I want all the kids to have stuff to open here too." She explained. "Here, put one of these in each of the baskets." She ordering handing Brian a bag of lollipops. 

"Shouldn't you be more focused on what we're feeding these people?" Brian asked as he followed his marching orders. 

"Ham is in the oven already. Once I'm done here I'm gonna concentrate on the side dishes and your mom is bringing a huge lasagna that I gotta pop in the second she gets here." Skylar rambled off. 

Brian felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and couldn't be more grateful. "Hello?" He answered hoping up off the floor walking away to take the call. "Hey, Ma. Skylar? Yeah she's Umm....okay ...I think?" Brian said unsure about his stressed out girlfriend. "That would probably be best." He answered when his mom said they would be arriving early to help. He was interrupted when the doorbell rang, "Um Mom I gotta go someone's at the door. Love you." He hung up wondering who could be ringing his bell at 8 in the morning. 

"Good Morning Mrs. Fletcher?” He greeted his 75 year old neighbor very confused. 

"Happy Easter my dear, could you just give this to Skylar. I gotta run." She said handing him a giant tray of calzones. 

Brian took it and closed the door behind him. "Oh good!" Skylar smiled seeing Brian holding the tray. "I knew she'd come through." Grabbing the tray she took it into the kitchen. 

Brian followed close behind on her heels. "Babe is there a reason our elderly neighbor is delivery food to us?" He asked. 

"These calzones she makes are so good so I asked if she had time to make some for us." She answered as she unwrapped them. 

"Calzones? Skylar, we have enough food to feed a small country." Brian responded shaking his head. 

"Brian people are gonna need appetizers." She argued. 

"Just put out some god damn cheese and crackers. Skylar this is just so much food. You're making such a big deal over this." He said. 

"Well excuse me for wanting people to have a nice holiday." She fought back as she began peeling the potatoes.   
________________________________  
While Brian did his best to clean up the explosion of Easter crap in the living, Skylar was busy mashing potatoes, boiling green beans, seasoning the yams, and checking on her ham.

"Knock knock!" She heard Brian's mother call out entering the house. 

Pure panic ran through Skylar's body. "Why are your parents here so early?" She asked flying into the living room in a harsh whisper. 

"My mom wanted to come early and help." Brian said making his way to the front hall to meet his mom and dad. 

"Did you tell her I needed help?!" She barked. 

"What? No." He answered, "She just figured we have lot of people coming and could use some extra help." 

"Hello!" Carol greeting warmly smiling when she saw Brian and Skylar. She immediately pulled each of them in for a hug. "Oh Skylar your hair looks amazing, I love it this length." She complimented stroking her hair softly. 

"Thank you." Skylar smiled. "I've missed you." She said giving her boyfriend's mother a second hug. The bond her and Carol had formed the past couple years was so special to her. She glanced towards Brian's dad, "Hey you!" She smiled. 

"Sup kiddo." He greeted warmly giving Skylar a hug. 

"Brian go help your dad bring everything in please." Carol instructed her middle son. 

Having been bossed around by one of his women all morning was getting a bit annoying but now that his mom was here, he knew it was only gonna get worse. With a smirk from his dad, Brian slipped his converses on following his pop outside. 

Skylar was shocked when she saw Brian and Jim return with half a dozen pies. Carol noticed the look in the younger women's eyes and grew concerned, "I hope I'm not overstepping but I didn't hear you mention dessert on the phone so I took the liberty of bringing some." 

"Thank you Carol, I appreciate it." Skylar thanked softly. "I'll be right back." She managed to choke out then bolted up the stairs. 

Brian was quickly after her and when he got upstairs he followed the sound of a muffled cry. He poked into the bedroom and sat down next to a crying Skylar. "Am I missing something here?" He asked. 

"I forgot all about dessert." She whimpered. "God I can't believe I forgot!" 

"It's okay, my mom had it covered." Brian said. "Babe you gotta calm down. You're going 1,000 miles an hour over this." 

"I'm just never gonna be able to do this as good as her." She whispered with disappointment in her voice. 

"As good as who? My mom?" Brian asked. 

"My mom." She answered. 

Now it was all starting to click together for Brian. This was all about trying to live up to how her mom used to throw holidays. From the stories he had heard, Skylar's mom took holidays very seriously and made sure they were perfect. "I just...she was always so good at this kinda stuff. I just wanted to do it like she did." 

"Come here." Brian said pulling her over to him. Skylar snuggled into her man, few stray tears still falling. "Baby you don't have to throw the perfect magazine cover dinner for your mom to be proud of you. Besides, today is going to go just fine. So what you forgot about dessert." 

"Your mom didn't forget." Skylar argued. 

"Because she's been doing this shit for over 40 years." He said. "You've been working like crazy, cut yourself a break. Trust me, everyone is going to be impressed today. I mean the house looks like the fucking Easter Bunny threw up down there." He laughed. 

That comment managed to get a smile out of Skylar. She may have gone a little overboard on decorations. "This is our first holiday hosting as a couple, I just wanted everything to be nice." 

"And it's gonna be our last...because if you ever make me do this again I'm gonna have to kill you." Brian laughed. Skylar bursted out laughing, she knew she was driving him crazy. "I love you, you fucking nutcase." He said kissing the top of her head as she was still snuggled into his side. 

"Do I really drive you that crazy?" She asked. 

"Every second of every god damn day." He answered rolling his eyes. Skylar smiled up at him. He truly was the best.

When they made it back downstairs, Skylar went right over to Carol giving her a huge hug. “Thank you so much for bringing all the pies, I can’t believe I forgot about dessert.” She laughed. 

“Anytime.” Carol smiled. She didn’t know what happened upstairs but by the looks of it her son took care of it. “And these are the cutest things I’ve ever seen.” She smiled pointing to the two bunny statues rolling skating on carrots. 

“Aren’t they?!” Skylar laughed, “HomeGoods!” 

Brian and his father rolled their eyes as the women gushed over cheesy decorations that Brian didn’t even wanna know what they cost.   
_______________________________  
Dinner was a success. The kids all loved their baskets. It was the most perfect Easter Skylar could have imagined. Members of Joe’s family and Skylar’s extended family had left to visit other family members so it was just Bessy, Joe, Brian’s parents, and brothers families left. 

Bessy and Joe were comforting baby Remo who was one and half and talking among themselves. “I just don’t know what we’re gonna do.” Skylar heard Bessy say to her husband. 

“Do about what?” Skylar interrupted. Normally she wouldn’t but it was rare to hear her cousin so upset.

“An old friend of mine that I used to work with is getting married upstate. Joe’s sister was supposed to watch the kids but she bailed last second.” Bessy explained while giving Joe a dirty look for his sister screwing them. “Wedding is next weekend, I don’t know what we’re gonna do.” 

“Brian and I are both off next weekend, we’ll watch them!” Skylar offered. 

It was at the moment that every head in the room turned to Brian. Danny, Brian’s younger brother who had 3 kids of his own, snorted to hold in a laugh. 

“That’s the only weekend we are gonna have off together for the rest of the month.” Brian said through gritted teeth. 

“So what?” Skylar responded, “They’re family and they need help. Guys don’t even worry about it, we will watch them for you.” 

Bessy looked at Joe and shrugged her shoulders when she saw the uneasy look on his face. She knew their kids would be taken care of with Skylar and Brian. “You’re sure?” 

“Absolutely!” Skylar smiled, “It’ll be fun, right Brian?” She asked kicking him under the table. 

Brian jumped at the sudden kick to his ankle. “Oh yeah...of course.” He said giving a thumbs up. 

As the two women talked logistics and decided it would make more sense if they stayed at the Gattos since all the kids stuff was there, Joe made his way over to his friend. “All I ask is that my kids are still alive when I get back Q.” 

Brian shot him an uneasy look. Never in his life had he ever babysat or been responsible for children. His older brother, Jimmy, heard the comment and laughed, “What I would give to be a fly on that wall!”


	6. Glitter and Pizza Sauce

All morning all Brian did was piss and moan and it was starting to really get on Skylar's last nerve. She finished up her last work email of the week and started upstairs to finish packing an overnight bag. 

"I just don't understand why you had to volunteer us? There has to be someone else more qualified to watch kids." Brian said following her to the bedroom. 

"Brian enough!" Skylar exclaimed. "Bessy's my family and Joe is basically yours so we are helping. You can sacrifice one night." She finished with an eye roll and then tossed an empty duffel bag to her disgruntled boyfriend. "Pack! I told Bessy we would be there by noon." 

The pair had been together long enough for Brian to know when he pushed too far. He sighed and began throwing clothes into his overnight bag. Everyone may think the kids weren't Brian Quinn's thing and honestly they would probably be right but not for the reasons everyone would think. They just made him nervous and it was a lot of responsibility, something he still didn't know if he really would ever want. This was something him and Skylar never talked about.   
________________________________  
"Hi!!" Skylar shrieked when the door opened and she spotted little Milana and Remo. Both kids ran to Skylar giving her a huge hug. 

"We are gonna have so much fun!" Milana shouted having just heard the news that cousin Skylar was coming for the night. Brian walked in carrying Skylar and his overnight bags and placed them down next to the staircase. 

"I can't tell you how much we appreciate this." Bessy said giving Brian a hug since Skylar was still preoccupied with the kids. 

"Yeah of course." He smiled hoping it didn't look as forced as it was. 

"Alright..." Bessy started picking up a pad of paper off the mantle. "So I wrote down everything you need to know. Remo should be ready for a nap in about an hour. Milana really doesn't nap much anymore but she usually just relaxes with a snack and watches TV while he naps. No sweets after 7 or they won't sleep. Bath before bed and use the lavender stuff. Remo is teething so if you feel he is starting to get really cranky from it give him Tylenol but call me first." 

Skylar looked over the notepad, Bessy literally had everything written down even down to what draw to find the kids pajamas in. "Bessy we can handle this. Go and have fun!" 

Joe shuffled in with their suitcases and exchanged looks with Q. He knew this was the last thing Brian Quinn wanted to be doing but what Skylar said went so he was here. He moved Brian back a few steps away from the ladies and kids. "I have two rules. Number one my kids are still alive when I get back." Joe started. 

Brian offered a sarcastic laugh, "And number two?"

"No sex in my bed." Joe added.

"Is the couch acceptable then?" Brian joked.

His joke was only met with a sound that couldn't be identified as a laugh or cry. "Alright Guys Mommy and Daddy gotta go." Joe said coming back within earshot of the kids. He sat down and hugged both kids so tight. Skylar looked on and smiled, she didn't think there was a greater dad in the world than Joe Gatto. "Be good for Sky and Q. Love you." He said kissing each kid a couple times. 

"Call with any problems Skylar." Bessy repeated for the third time. 

"We will be fine!" Skylar repeated for the hundredth time. 

Once the Gattos were in their car and pulling out of the driveway, Remo burst into tears. "Mama mama!" He cried trying to run to the door. Skylar scooped him up and tried to calm the crying boy. As Brian rubbed his back a couple times he leaned down to whisper into his girlfriend's ear, "Oh yeah this was a great idea."   
________________________________  
It was 1:30 and Skylar came downstairs looking exhausted already. "He finally fell asleep." She sighed. 

Brian was getting Milana settled with a few different snacks, the little girl couldn't settle on one and he wasn't up for arguing with a toddler. Skylar went back into the kitchen to clean up when she heard her phone alert her of a text. "Shit." She muttered to herself when she read it. 

"Alright she's all set with her show." Brian said joining Skylar in the kitchen. "What's wrong?" He asked stopping in his tracks when he saw her face. 

"We have a bit of a problem." She said. "I gotta go to the office and grab a file real quick." 

"Excuse me? Are you high?" He responded. "You're not leaving me alone with two kids!" 

"There was a pipe burst on our floor and they have to close the building to fix it. They are locking the door at 3 o'clock." She explained. "I need that file for my story Monday morning." 

"Then go tomorrow." He said through gritted teeth. 

"They can't guarantee the building will be open tomorrow. If I don't go now,I'm not getting in." She responded. 

"Skylar!" He shouted but was instantly meant by a shhh from Skylar in fear of waking the sleeping baby upstairs. In a much quieter voice Brian continued, "This was all your idea and now you're just gonna take off on me, are you kidding?!" 

"I'll be there and back as soon as I can. It won't take long. Remo should be down for a couple hours and Milana is content on the couch. You'll be fine." She insisted reaching for her purse. "I need your keys." She said holding out her hand. 

"Oh and you're taking my Jeep?! Ain't that fucking nice." He said rolling his eyes. If there was one thing that made him uneasy it was Skylar driving his Jeep. The one and only time he allowed it, it came back with a huge scratch all along the entire passenger's side. That was over a year ago and he still hadn't gotten the truth out of her on what happened. Point blank she was an awful driver. 

"Please don't be mad, I love you." She said kissing his cheek. 

"Yeah yeah." Brian grumbled watching her zoom out. He glanced down at Cannoli, one of the Gatto pups, "We got this right girl?" He said. Cannoli quickly jumped up and walked into the next room. "Great thanks, just leave me too." He called after the little white dog.  
________________________________  
"You got the text too?" Brock asked holding the elevator door for Skylar. 

"Hey!" She smiled. "Yeah and I'm supposed to be babysitting my cousin's kids. I have a whole file of research for that story Monday morning." 

"Could have just asked me to pick it up, I would have swung it by." Brock offered. 

"Thanks that's awfully nice but I live on Staten Island, would have been a pain for you." Skylar said. 

"I honestly wouldn't have minded." Brock replied quickly. "I would do anything to help you Skylar."

Just the way Brock said that made Skylar take an involuntary step back. He was always so professional and that was just an odd thing to say. However she would never want to make things awkward with someone she worked with so much, so she decided to smile and say thank you. 

Once the elevator opened Skylar stepped off and made her way over to her desk as quickly as possible. She had to get back to Long Island before these kids killed Brian. "Find what you needed?" Brock said walking by. 

"Huh?" Skylar asked a bit startled. "Oh yeah, right here." She answered holding up the folder. 

"Have time for a quick drink?" Brock asked. 

"No, I really gotta get back. Brian's alone with two kids. Trust me, that's not good." She laughed. 

"I'll see you Monday morning then." He smiled. 

"Yes definitely! I'm excited about this story." She smiled, bid farewell and headed back to the elevator.  
________________________________  
Brian looked around at the huge mess. He didn't even know where to begin. This was entirely took much for one person to even think of tackling. He didn't understand how people parented without losing their minds. 

"Remo!" Brian shouted seeing the toddler trying to climb the stairs. "Get over here you little escape man." He said picking the little boy up and making sure the baby gate was secure this time. 

"Q, look at my hair!" Milana laughed, "Isn't it pretty?!" 

Brian turned around, "Oh my god." He whispered under his breath seeing his friend's daughter dumping an entire tube of glitter over her head. 

Suddenly the front door opened and a few seconds later there was Skylar. "What the...?!" Skylar exclaimed stopping herself before a curse slipped out. She looked around the living room and saw every toy pulled from the toy box, glitter and art supplies scattered all over Bessy's new area rug, and an entire package of baby wipes ripped apart. "Brian look at this house!" 

"This is all your fault, you left me alone!" He fought back still trying to wrestle Remo off the bottom step before he pulled the gate on top of himself. "This one woke up about 15 minutes after you left." He said holding up the little boy. 

"Milana why do you have glitter all in your hair?" She said turning to the little girl. 

"I wanted to look pretty for Q." She smiled, "Like Sky Sky does." 

Just hearing the sweet comment from such an innocent little human made Skylar and Brian smile. "Well I think you look very pretty." Brian said coming over and kissing the little girl's glitter infested head. "And you!" He shouted over at Remo who was back at the stairs, "You're a little monkey!" Skylar walked over pulling him away again. "He doesn't sit down, not once!" Brian said shaking his head, "I'm fuc....exhausted." He said catching himself mid sentence.  
________________________________  
Skylar was in the kitchen getting things set for dinner. She thought it would be fun to have the kids make their own little pizzas. She had sauce, cheese, and lots of toppings laid out on the kitchen island. 

"All clean." Brian announced coming in carrying the vacuum. "Where'd you find this?" He asked. 

"Broom closet over there." She said pointing. 

"Seriously?" He asked looking at what she was doing. "You know this is gonna lead to a giant mess!" 

"No it won't." Skylar laughed shaking her head, "You just have to keep order. Show them who's boss." 

"Oh really?" He laughed. "Go ahead Mary Poppins, show me how it's done." Brian took a seat on the other side of the island to watch Skylar try and attempt making pizzas with two small children. 

"You ready to cook?!" Skylar exclaimed turning to the kids trying to get them excited. 

"Yay!!!" They both shouted.

"Alright so you each have your own little pizza." Skylar started and handed each of the children a spoon, "So now take some sauce and spread it..." Milana was two steps ahead scoops a huge spoonful on hers, "Oh Milana that's a little too much." Skylar said trying to wrestle the spoon from her. With her back turned she didn't see Remo reach into the bowl of cheese and squish it between his fingers. "Remo, no!" Skylar shouted as she tried to ripe the bowl away from him. 

Brian sat back sipping his iced tea laughing hysterically. "Oh yeah show em who's boss babe!" These kids ran all over him this afternoon, it was nice seeing Skylar get a taste of it now. 

"Guys come on you're gonna get it everywhere." She said trying to get these kids to stop touching everything. "Stop!" She shouted. Both kids stopped for a moment until Skylar was hit directly in the face with a piece of dough courtesy of little Milana who was giggling hysterically. 

Brian reached over grabbing a couple slices of pepperoni as he laughed along. "You were right this was a great idea." He smirked. 

Skylar's only response was dipping her hand in Remo's bowl and smearing sauce all over her man's face. Both kids were screaming with laughter. "Again again!" Milana yelled. 

Brian gave Skylar a look that spoke volumes and she knew if she dared Brian would get her back twice as hard. "Screw it, just have a pizza delivered." She sighed ducking as Remo threw more cheese.   
________________________________  
As if feeding two kids wasn't bad enough, Skylar quickly learned what a nightmare bathing two was. The Gatto's bathroom looked like something from Seaworld. While she used every towel she could find to clean up the floor, Brian was on pajama duty. She finally had that all taken care of and was coming down the hall and stopped when she heard Brian's voice. 

"Goodnight little house  
And goodnight mouse  
Goodnight comb  
And goodnight brush  
Goodnight nobody"

Skylar leaned against the doorframe and listened as Brian read to the kids. His voice was soft and she couldn't help but smile. As quietly as she could she nudged the door open and looked in. There was Brian laying in Milana's twin bed with a kid in either side of him reading Goodnight Moon. Never in her life did she think of kids. It wasn't that she didn't want them, it just hadn't been on her mind but right now watching the man she loved with these two kids, it was now. 

"Goodnight mush  
And goodnight to the old lady whispering "hush" Goodnight stars  
Goodnight air  
Good night noises everywhere"

Brian closed the book and realized he now had two sleeping children against him. He looked up and noticed Skylar giving him the goofiest smile from the hall. "Help." He mouthed to her. Skylar quickly snuck to the bedside and gently picked up Remo. Luckily his room was next door so she didn't have far to carry him. Ever so carefully she set him down in his crib and started his mobile. As she walked by Milana's room again her heart melted when she saw Brian pulling the covers over the little girl and kissing the top of her head. Once he was out and the door was shut behind him he jokingly made the sign of the cross over himself. They did it.   
_______________________________  
Brian has just let the dogs out for their last bathroom trip and was now joining Skylar upstairs in the master bedroom. "We are getting ridiculously drunk tomorrow." He said as he slid into bed. 

"Fuck yeah we are." She laughed turning on the baby monitor. She had to be up early Monday morning but Joe and Bessy were due back around 11 tomorrow. One of her favorite things was getting lost in the city day drinking with Brian on Sunday afternoons. They would eat,drink, and get back home to pass out before dinner time. 

She leaned over and cuddled into his side capturing his lips for a kiss. Brian smiled when he felt Skylar try to poke her tongue into his mouth. "Joe gave me strict orders, no sex in his bed." he said. 

Skylar stopped kissing him and looked over at him like he was insane, "Get real, I am so beyond tired, I don't think I would even have the energy for that." She laughed. 

"Good, me neither." He responded pulling her close into him. "It actually wasn't so bad though."

"Really?" She smiled. 

"Yeah...but let's not sign us up again anytime soon." He said giving her his serious "I mean it Skylar" look. 

As she drifted off to sleep she starting wondering if maybe one day she would be listening to this man read Goodnight Moon to their own kids. The thought gave her a smile and she curled up even closer to him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The passage is from the famous kids story, GoodNight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown. 
> 
> And unfortunately every scenario with the kids is something I have experienced with my own and I'm sure so many other parents with their kids. So this chapter is for all the parents who lose their minds on a constant basis, hope this could make you laugh a bit!


	7. Eye Opening

Skylar and Brian came busting through the front door. It wasn't even 6pm yet and they were drunk of their asses. Sunday Funday was a success. After leaving the Gattos in the morning and then checking in on the cats, they headed into Manhattan to Skylar's most favorite brunch spot. Refinery Rooftop offered delicious foods and killer Bloody Mary's while overlooking the Empire State Building. They lucked out with a beautiful spring day but Skylar still snuggled into Brian's side whenever a breeze came through. 

The place was a little too expensive for Brian's taste but he enjoyed spoiling Skylar with her favorite Sunday spot. After they ate until they were certain they'd explode, they switched to Brian's favorite activity, bar hopping from dive to dive. 

Now they were home and couldn't wait to lock the door and finish this perfect day. "I want you." Skylar said kissing his lips hard. 

"Well I always want you." Brian slurred feeling the effects of all the whiskeys he had consumed today. 

They hurried upstairs and that's when Q made his presence known. He pushed his girl flat down against the mattress and had her pants off in one swift pull. She wiggled from side to side with such want and anticipation. Her silk panties were already wet. As Brian licked his lips preparing himself for a treat he still wondered how he became the luckiest man in the world. He had the hottest girl he could ever imagine and for the first time in a long time there was not one thing he could possible think of about his life that he would change. 

"You just gonna stare at it all day or you gonna make a move?" Skylar teased beneath him.

Brian smiled devilishly shaking his head a few times, "You getting mouthy with me Thompson?" 

Skylar giggled, "I'm just saying, if you're too drunk to perform..." 

Brian reached down playfully putting his hand around her throat and ducked down to bite her earlobe. "Only thing I wanna hear from your mouth right now is you screaming my name." He slurred. 

He then quickly disappeared down her body and spread her legs. Skylar yelped when she felt bites at her most intimate spots. A drunk Q was usually a very rough one and Skylar loved it. She moaned his name over and over as he continued eating her fast and hard. 

"You taste so fucking good baby." He said coming up for air then quickly diving back into her. 

Skylar arched her back so her pussy was up and available to him. "Brian! Brian! Oh god I'm cumming!" She yelled.

"I know." He growled pulling her legs up and over his shoulders. Before going back for more he wiped her juices off his face with the back of his hand. Skylar felt him lick her lips up and down and then nibble at her center which instantly sent her over the edge again. Nothing would ever feel as good as Brian Quinn doing what he did best. 

As Brian repositioned himself so he wouldn't slip off the bed, Skylar was able to grab at his hardness and stroke him. "Oh yeah baby." He moaned when he felt her touch.

"My turn." She said switching positions to get on top but Brian had a better idea and flipped her around so she was still on top but his face could still be buried between her legs. He grabbed hold of her ass and waited to hear her beg. 

"Spank me baby." She ordered before slipping his dick into her mouth. 

"With pleasure." He smiled reached his hand up and coming down for 3 hard slaps. Brian stopped though when he felt her mouth all the way down his member. "Oh fuck yeah Skylar, suck it good." He moaned. "So good. So deep baby." 

Skylar's head bobbed up and down as she made her man turn to putty beneath her. She loved how good she could make him feel with just a couple seconds on his dick. From the angle she was at, he had a different access to her pussy and took advantage of licking her from the bottom. He slid his tongue up to the top and connected to the opening of her ass and in moments she was releasing all over him yet again.  
_______________________________  
Laying in bed together completely content but worn out, Skylar rested her head against his heartbeat running her fingers up and down his belly. He was about to open his mouth and tell her to grab a takeout menu from downstairs when she spoke first. "It was really cute seeing you with the kids this weekend." She smiled. 

"I'll admit when I'm wrong." He laughed, "It was actually pretty fun, exhausting but fun." 

Skylar then decided to muster up the courage and ask what had been on her mind. "Does that mean we might get to do it again one day?" 

"I told you we can watch them again, just not immediately." He answered. 

"I'm not talking about Milana and Remo...I'm talking about kids of our own." She said. 

Brian let out a sigh, "Skylar can we talk about this when we both haven't been drinking all day?" 

"Sure." She responded laying against him hoping they would see eye to eye when they did eventually talk about it.   
________________________________  
Skylar popped two more Advil, this headache wasn't going away but she had a job to do. This morning they were in New Jersey filming a story at St. Elizabeth's Orphanage. Sadly the number of abandoned children in the state was increasing at a rapid rate so Skylar and Brock were sent to get a more in depth look into the system.

“Good morning!” Brock exclaimed making Skylar nearly hump out of her skin. “Sorry didn’t mean to scare you.” He laughed.

“It’s fine, just rough start this morning.” She said rubbing her head as they walked into the building. 

“You do look pretty rough.” Brock laughed. 

“Day drinking.” She laughed. “It will do it every time.” 

“Oh fun stuff. Maybe I can join you next time.” He smiled. 

Skylar didn’t answer. She didn’t even want to think of Brian’s reaction if she said Brock would be joining them. When Brian had found out Skylar was going to be working so closely with a younger attractive man, he wasn’t thrilled. But after meeting him he decided he was a cool dude and contained his jealousy, however she knew her man and his acceptance was only going to go so far.   
________________________________  
On the IJ set this morning, the Jokers has just arrived and were getting mic’ed. Today they were at a dry cleaners in Brooklyn putting their hands on cars first and then doing a second bit working behind the counter. 

“Thanks again for watching the kids this weekend man.” Joe said sitting down. 

“Anytime...well not anytime.” He laughed. “I give you credit though, being with them made me more tired than pulling a double at the firehouse.” 

Joe noticed a weird expression on his friend’s face, “What?” He asked. 

“I think it kind of got Skylar’s mind thinking though.” He admitted. 

“About what?” Joe asked taking a sip of his coffee. 

“Kids.” Brian answered. 

Joe knew his friend’s stance on kids, he had always been against wanting his own. “And this is a surprise to you? Q, she’s a younger woman. She just established her career. You have to expect marriage and kids not to run through her mind now.” 

“Wanna hear something insane?” Brian laughed. “If she had said yes, we would have come back from Vegas married.” 

“Seriously?!” Joe responded. “Bessy would have freaked the fuck out.” 

“That’s what Skylar said. Plus it would have killed my mom not being there.” He said, “But it definitely got me thinking that’s for sure. Promise you won’t say anything...I have an appointment next week while she’s away for work to meet with a jeweler.” 

“Buddy, that’s big!” Joe responded. 

“She’s it for me Joe.” He said. “Time to make it official.” 

“Can I give some advice?” Joe asked. “Before popping the question, you should figure out if you both agree on starting a family or not.” Joe stood up to meet with one of the producers. He placed his hand on his friend’s shoulder, “Whatever you guys decide, you know Bessy and I will have your backs buddy.” 

Brian nodded and watched Joe walk away. He avoided Skylar’s question about kids last night but obviously they would have to talk eventually.  
________________________________  
Krystal Miller greeted Brock, Skylar, and the camera crew on front of the office. She gave them a bit more history on the place and told them they would have access to any area apart from the children’s room. 

“There are 16 children total that live here. We have a boy wing and girl wing and ages run from 5 to 14.” Krystal went on to explain. 

“And all these kids have decreased parents?” Skylar asked. 

“Some do and others were abandoned by teen parents or parents with drug problems.” Krystal answered. 

“And why do they end up here?” Brock chimed in, “How come they aren’t placed into foster homes with families?” 

“Unfortunately there’s just not enough out there. Other children have certain challenges that make it more difficult to place them.” Krystal answered. “Which is why we are excited you all are here. Maybe make people become aware of the need for more foster families.” 

As Skylar went over her notes, Brock and the camera crew started to meet with other staff members. This story was more important than any other story Skylar had covered. Even though she was never technically an orphan since her parents died when she was legally an adult, she still lost them very young. 

As she read through everything she had written down she heard a tiny giggle behind her. Skylar turned around and saw a little girl with golden blonde hair and bright blue eyes peeking around the corner. “Hi there!” Skylar greeted getting up and walking over. 

“I like your shoes.” The little girl said softly pointing to Skylar’s hot pink stilettos. 

“Thank you. Pinks my favorite color.” She smiled kneeling down next to the girl. 

“Mine too!” She exclaimed. 

“Shiloh!” They heard an older woman’s voice call out. “Shiloh, you can’t run off like that.” Kate, one of the staff members, scolded. “Come on its time for your snack.” She said grabbing the little girl’s hand. 

“Bye bye.” Shiloh said to Skylar. 

“Bye!” Skylar waved.   
________________________________  
The story was going very well. Right now Brock and Skylar stood by as the camera crew filmed the kids playing on the playground behind the building. It wasn’t the best equipment, very old and beat up looking but the kids didn’t seem to care. Skylar spotted the little girl from earlier playing in the sandbox by herself. She had a sad look on her face as she watched the other kids play together. 

“I’ll be right back.” She said to Brock as she made her way over to the sandbox. 

“Hi Shiloh.” Skylar said sitting on the side of the sandbox, “My names Skylar.” 

“Hi.” The little girl smiled.

“Why are you over here by yourself? Don’t you wanna play with the other kids?” Skylar asked. 

“They aren’t very nice to me.” The little girl said, her face falling. 

“Why not?” Skylar asked. 

“I don’t know. They just don’t like me.” Shiloh answered kicking around the sand. Skylar’s heart broke as she studied the little girl. Her clothes were ripped and tattered and her hair could certainly use a good washing. She wasn’t malnourished but she was definitely thinner than any child should be. 

She remembered what Krystal had said during her portion of the interview. They were entirely funded by the state. That meant clothes and meals for the kids and food wasn’t the finest. The kids all ate but extra snacks and treats were kept to a minimum. Staff members would usually buy things like chips and candy from time to time from their own pockets. 

Well if the other kids wouldn’t play with this little girl, Skylar was going to. Kicking off her shoes and removing her blazer, she stepped into the sandbox and started to dig next to the Shiloh. The little girl giggled and for the first time in a long time enjoyed outside time with someone.   
________________________________  
It had been a long emotional day. Skylar couldn’t understand how these kids had close to nothing but still had bright smiles on their faces. As she packed up her laptop she saw a girl about 13 years old eating a snack in the cafeteria. She smiled at her T-shirt. “You like that show?” Skylar asked pointing to her Impractical Jokers shirt. 

“Yeah!” The girl smiled, “Its one of the few cable channels we get. They are the best!” 

“Which one’s your favorite?” Skylar asked. 

“Sal! He’s so funny! Every time he falls down I die laughing.” The girl named McKenzie answered. 

“Sal is pretty cool huh.” Skylar laughed. 

“I saved up all my birthday and Christmas money to buy this shirt. It’s my favorite.” The girl said. This broke Skylar’s heart; the fact that this girl had to save up every dime she had managed to get to buy a lousy shirt. It was then that Skylar got an idea. 

“Knock knock.” Skylar said outside of Krystal’s office.” 

“Hi Skylar. I can’t thank you enough for doing a story on the kids. I can’t wait to watch it.” Krystal said. 

“It was a treat for us to come, thank you for having us. I actually have a question. Would you mind if I came back with a few of my friends?” Skylar went on to explain who she was referring to. 

“I think the kids would be thrilled!” Krystal exclaimed.


	8. Can I Get Your Number?

"So Q really thinks you're still on a story?" Bessy asked when she pulled up in front of Skylar and Brian's Staten Island home. 

"Yup, I flew in a few hours ago and had to stalk the house to make sure he was gone." Skylar laughed. "So do you have any idea what we're gonna be doing?" 

"Not really but Murray said it's gonna be good!" 

Tonight there was a double punishment for Joe and Brian, a first in Impractical Jokers. Sal and Murray were excited to finally get the two hardest people to punish on the show together. To Brian's knowledge, Skylar was still out of town for work and wasn't due back until tomorrow. And to Joe's knowledge his wife was home with two kids. The girls were currently on route to the punishment location. 

I'm gonna text Cha and get a little more information." Skylar said as Bessy took the ramp onto the bridge that led out of Staten Island. After a few minutes Skylar got a response and started cracking up, "Oh my god Bes, you're gonna love this!" She exclaimed as she read the text from Cha out loud.   
________________________________  
As instructed when the girls arrived at the location in Manhattan they were to report across the street and meet one of the producers so it would be certain Joe or Q wouldn't spot them. While over there they were mic'ed and given final instructions. Skylar was familiar with the behind the scenes production since she worked on the show before. After getting in some hugs from former coworkers her and Bessy were needed across the street.   
_______________________________  
Filming for the intro was underway and Sal and Murray has enormous smiles. "Well, the moment the two of us have been waiting for is upon us!" Murray said into the camera. 

"That's right, a double punishment but first the first time it will be Q and Joe together!" Sal added. "Boys this is gonna be a good one!" 

Joe and Q shared unsettling looks. They had gotten a glance at the signs postered outside and knew what was happening downstairs. 

"Guys downstairs is a dating event that you two will be participating in." Murr started to explain. 

"The punishment is over when you get a phone number from a woman downstairs." Sal smiled. 

"Seriously?!" Q exclaimed as Joe turned beet red. 

"Get ready to impress the ladies boys!" Sal laughed into the camera at his friends' expense. 

Once the cameras stopped rolling for the intro, Joe and Q stepped off to the side. "Well this is gonna be fun when it airs." Q said having full knowledge that Skylar and Bessy still watched the show every week. 

"It'll be fine, just turn on that Q charm." Joe joked slapping his friend on the back but inside was just as nervous himself. 

"Alright guy's head on down!" They heard the director yell over.  Both men took deep breaths and made their way out of the room. 

Sal and Murr took their positions in front of the monitors. There were two different microphones; one connected to Joe and Q's ear pieces and the other connected to Bessy and Skylar's. 

As they walked into the room, Q and Joe were pointed to the two tables next to each other. That way they would interact with one another and the camera could pick both of them up. What they didn't see was Skylar and Bessy sitting at the bar on the opposite side of the room. 

"They look nervous!" Bessy laughed. Skylar responded with a laugh of her own. 

"Girls you ready?" Sal asked into the mic. 

"Ready." They both answered. 

They looked on as two women approached their men and took a seat. Cameras rolled as Joe and Q stumbled over their words. It had been almost 3 years for Q, and even longer for Joe, since they even thought of flirting with another women. They were very loyal men and Skylar and Bessy knew that which is why they were completely fine with this punishment. 

"I like your scarf. Yellow's nice." Joe smiled awkwardly at the woman he was talking to. The woman looked incredibly confused and the cameras picked up on her expression leaving everyone in the back in hysterics. Q who had been listening shook his head in disbelief. 

"Yellow's nice?" Q asked looking at Joe in bewilderment.

“Shut up.” Joe said slamming his palm into his face, “You think you can do better?!” 

“Better than yellow’s nice? Yeah I think so!” Q laughed. Everyone back stage was in tears listening to the two of them argue and how bad Joe was at flirting. 

“Well here comes someone, show me how it’s done!” Joe said as a tall gorgeous blonde sat down across from Q. 

This was an awkward situation flirting with another woman but it was a punishment and the quicker he got a phone number, the quicker this was over. Flirting was certainly still a skill Brian Quinn possessed. He smiled at the woman and stuck out his hand to shake hers. “Now I know this is a mistake, beautiful girl like you couldn’t possibly have trouble finding a date.” He said in a low husky voice that usually drove women crazy. 

The woman giggled, “What a charmer! My name’s Bristol.” 

“Hi Bristol, I’m Brian. And I wasn’t kidding you are beautiful.” He said. 

Meanwhile Joe sat by and just shook his head. The son of a bitch was still good and charming as ever. 

“You were a fireman?!” Bristol exclaimed, “God That’s so hot!” 

Brian was incredibly pleased with himself, he had this girl eating out of the palm of his hand. So he went in for a line he must have used a billion times, “Not as hot as you.” He winked. 

Backstage the final piece of the punishment was about to be put into action. It was clear that this woman was interested in Q so it was time to send in their secret weapon. “Skylar.” Sal said into the mic, “We’re ready for you now.” 

Skylar smiled at her cousin and clinged her glass against hers. “Wish me luck!” 

Sal looked at the camera to explain to the audience exactly what was happening. “So we have Q’s girlfriend, Skylar, who actually used to work on the show years ago as an intern here. She’s gonna pop in and surprise Q on his date.” Sal laughed. 

Skylar made her way across the floor towards Brian and Joe. This girl was literally hanging on every word Brian was saying. “Honey?” Skylar said interrupting the conversation going on. “Honey did you set the alarm before you left the house?” She asked trying to hide her smile. 

The look on Brian’s face was absolutely priceless. He rubbed his hand over his face a couple times as he pieced together what was happening. Joe was currently looking into the camera in a state of shock. Murr and Sal certainly didn’t drop the ball on this one. 

“Seriously baby because last time you forgot the alarm, did you remember?” Skylar pestered. 

“Who is this?” Bristol asked. 

“Huh?” Brian asked not being able to form a sentence at the moment. “She’s my...ummm...a...yeah..ummm...” Everyone was in a fit of laughter listening to Q trip over his words. 

“I’m his girlfriend!” Skylar smiled shaking her hand. 

“Girlfriend?” Bristol questioned. “I’m confused why are you both here at a dating event? This is really weird, it was great meeting you Brian.” Bristol said getting up to walk away.

“No no! Wait!” Brian called after her. He was so close to getting her number and ending this punishment but it was too late, she was gone. 

Skylar leaned against Brian laughing. “She seemed nice.” 

“Shut up.” He grumbled. “You’re here to ruin any chance I get at getting a number aren’t you?” 

“Have fun.” She smiled and leaned down to kiss his cheek then quickly turned and disappeared into the crowd. 

“Fuck you guys.” Brian said into the camera when he heard Sal and Murr laughing in his ear. 

“This is a good one boys, I take my hat off to you.” Joe laughed. Seems like they knew Q would excel at this so they threw in Skylar to not only make it more difficult but to embarrass him. A woman sat down across from Joe next and introduced herself as Eve. She worked in sales which Joe was able to run with having worked in sales for years. Their conversation was going great until Q spotted someone walking towards them. 

“Ohhhh, And here he go!” Q snorted when he saw Bessy making her way over. “Looks like I’m not the only one with company tonight buddy!” 

“Oh what the fuck.” Joe sighed when he saw his wife. 

“Baby I just called and checked in with the sitter. The kids are fast asleep.” Bessy smiled placing her hand on Joe’s shoulder. 

“Kids?!” Eve questioned, “Is this your wife?” The woman asked grabbing her purse and storming off. 

Bessy knew her work was done and as instructed slipped away to join Skylar at the bar again. “This is gonna take all fucking night.” Joe groaned. 

Close to two hours passed and every time Joe or Q found a woman to talk to, Skylar and Bessy were right there to interrupt. The guys located the girls at the bar and went over. “This is insane, are you ever gonna let us finish this stupid punishment?!” Brian exclaimed getting both annoyed and tired of this night. 

“Of course not!” Bessy laughed. 

“Then what is the point?!” Joe yelled. 

“Just to watch you both squirm.” Skylar laughed. She then noticed a dark exotic looking girl giving her man the eye. “She’s checking you out, go over and say hi.” Skylar pointed. 

“For what?!” He exclaimed, “You’re just gonna come over and make me look dumb.” The night was almost over and he knew they got a lot of funny content so in his mind the punishment was over. 

The girl who had her eye on them was sick of waiting and decided to come over. She truly was beautiful and had he been single was definitely someone Q would be taking home. “I’m done tonight.” Brian said to Skylar. 

“Hi I couldn’t help but notice you all night.” The beautiful woman said but to everyone’s surprise she wasn’t talking to Brian, she was talking to Joe. 

“Huh?” Joe asked in a state of shock looking around him, certain she was speaking to someone else. 

Bessy Gatto instantly sprang into action, “He’s all set sweetie!” She said grabbing her husband’s face for a kiss. Skylar and Brian laughed at Bessy being so forward. 

Brian swung his arm around his girl giving her the look she could never resist. “Whatta Say think I can get your number?” He winked. 

Skylar and Bessy both spun around in their chairs and jotted down something on cocktail napkins and headed then back to their men. Joe and Brian smiled down at the numbers. Had they just thought of this hours ago, they would have been home in bed with their beautiful girls by now. 

Once everyone returned upstairs to get their mics off and tell everyone good night, Joe and Q vowed to get the two remaining jokers back for this shit. 

“Skylar!” Cha interrupted approaching her friend. “One is the girls wanted me to give this to you.” Skylar was confused but opened the note she was handed. 

You and your man are really hot. Hit me up for a good time!   
(202)672 1872 

Brian glanced over Skylar’s shoulder reading the note as well. He smiled down at his girlfriend. “Don’t even think about it Quinn, those days are long over!” She said shaking her head. 

Brian reached down ripping up the note, “Nice to know we still got it though!” He laughed then bent down to kiss her. “Let’s get you home so I can plan a punishment of my own!” He said slapping her ass making her bite her lip in anticipation.


	10. New Home

They had just finished dinner and since Skylar cooked Brian volunteered for clean up. It was something his dad always did for his mom and still did to this day so it became a tradition Brian adopted. 

However the minute he flipped the switch to the garbage disposal it made a startling gridding sound. "What the fuck Skylar." He mumbled under his breath. Quickly shutting off the switch, he then ducked underneath the sink to shut off the main power to the disposal. Once he was certainly it was turned off he stood up and stuck his hand into the drain. He unpleasantly pulled out a now severely bent fork. If he told her once he literally told her a million times to make sure nothing went down the drain that shouldn't. 

After putting the power back on and returning to the sink full of dishes he was met with the same grinding sound. "You've gotta be kidding me!" He exclaimed realizing something else was stuck in there. Now annoyed he dropped to his knees a second time to power off again. 

"What is that noise?" Skylar asked entering the kitchen after hearing Brian talking to himself. When she walked in and saw her boyfriend with his hand down the drain she instantly knew he was mad. 

"How many times do I have to tell you...got it." He groaned pulling out a rather large chicken bone this time. "You already broke the last one, I don't feel like having a new one installed Skylar. Pay attention!" He exclaimed. 

"It's just a bone. I'm sure the disposal would have taken care of it." She said rolling her eyes. 

"Oh really, what about this?!" He asked holding up the mutilated fork he had just pulled out. 

"I didn't see that slip down there." She defended. 

"Exactly my point! You don't pay attention. I swear every time I come back from being on the road I come back to something else that needs to be fix." Brian argued. 

"That's not true!" Skylar yelled back. 

"Really?!" He said raising his eyebrows, "Last time I was gone you clogged the downstairs toilet with entirely too much toilet paper. Time before that, you backed into the garage door." Brian could go on for days at this point having lived with Skylar for over 2 years now. "At this point it cost me more money to go away because I gotta pay for things to get fixed every time I come back." 

Skylar suddenly started laughing. "Whats so funny?!" Brian asked. 

"Do you realize how old we sound?" She laughed. 

"I am old." He grumbled. 

Skylar rolled her eyes, Brian was constantly pointing out how old he was getting lately since his last birthday past. "We just sound so...so..." 

"Married?" Brian finished for her. 

"Kinda...yeah." Skylar smiled. 

Brian chose not to carry on this conversation anymore. He hadn't told her this but he did have a chance to meet with a jeweler. There wasn't anything that seemed to scream 'Skylar' at him but he wasn't quitting. Next week he would be flying out to LA for work and had his assistant set up an appointment there. Of course he did have his conversation with Joe still on his mind. He needed to talk to Skylar more about kids but first he was trying to figure out how he felt about it. On one hand he loathed the idea of that much responsibility; the 2am feedings, having to give up his freedom. However on the other hand picturing a little girl with her mom's eyes and spunky personality being rocked by Skylar did make him smile. 

"Lets go upstairs." He suddenly heard and felt his girl's hot breath against his ear. 

"Huh?" Brian asked being pulled from his thoughts of marriage and kids. 

He then saw the naughty smile on his girl's lips. "All this fighting with you makes me horny. Come upstairs and show me how bad I've been." She begged pulling him by the hand. 

As the climbed the stairs Brian reached out spanking her hard, like he knew she liked. Skylar giggled in anticipation and ran faster up the stairs. It couldn't have been more than a few seconds before all their clothes were off and thrown in every direction. 

"Mmm..." Skylar moaned seeing Brian so hard. "See you're not that old." She winked. 

"Shut up." He chuckled as he stroked himself. Nothing got him hard faster than Skylar. "Up on all fours baby." He ordered. Seeing Skylar from behind had to be his all time favorite thing. 

More than happy to oblige she quickly flipped and leaned down on her forearms. Within moments she felt several spanks against her cheeks. She bit her bottom lip trying to contain her moan but failed miserably. "Yes baby. Spank me." 

Brian leaned down to plant wet kisses to her back as she begged him to keep going. "How about I get that pussy on my face baby?" He said in his low husky voice. Before Skylar could response Brian had moved beneath her pulling her body closer to his mouth. 

"Ah shit." Skylar cried out once she felt him. His beard had been growing out a bit more and the feeling of the roughness on her most sensitive area was still overpowering at times. Brian smiled against her when he felt her begin to cum. Over these past two and half years he had grown to know everything about her body. He knew every scar, birthmark, curve, and of course how to make her feel the best she ever felt.

 

"That's right baby. Let me have it." He said then reached up to rub at her clit.

"Brian! Fuck!" She screamed as her body took over and released. 

After giving her a few moments to compose herself, Brian quickly rolled her over onto her back and entered her quickly. "So wet Skylar." He moaned as he moved deeper inside of her. Brian then took her right breast into his mouth and teased her nipple. Once she felt him bite down she was cunning again. 

"God you're so fucking good." She whispered pulling his face up to kiss. Skylar tasted herself on his tongue and continued to enjoy how he was making her feel. "Brian harder baby! God you fuck me so good!" She yelled out. 

Brian now has her legs up into her chest and felt himself close to the edge. After a few more pumps and one look at his cock going in and out of his most favorite part of Skylar's body he lost control and moaned out her name as he came hard. 

Once they were able to catch their breaths and get comfortable in bed Brian looked over at his girl, "Admit it, you like the fuller beard." He laughed. 

"It definitely has its advantages." She smiled going in for more kisses.   
________________________________  
The next morning was a charity event that Joe and Bessy were hosting for North Shore Animal League. The luncheon was going to be raising money and awareness for non kill shelters. As Brian got ready in the bathroom he was ran his hand along his hairline. "Babe?!" He called out from the sink. When he saw Skylar appear in the mirror reflection he turned around, "Do you think I've gotten too gray?" He asked. 

"I mean over two years, you've certainly got more but it's not bad." She shrugged. She couldn't help but think how much Brian had been obsessing over these things lately. 

"You sure?" He asked turning back to the mirror. Truth was he knew Skylar worked with a lot of younger men, especially her reporter, Brock. He acted cool with it but he had seen a couple looks he shot at his girl. With Skylar only being 24, the age difference would cross Brian's mind from time to time. 

Skylar walked up giving him a hug from behind, "You are still the same sexy Q that picked me up in the back of a strip club." She smiled giving him a sexy kiss making sure she got her point across. In her mind, Brian Quinn was still the sexiest man walking the planet and she counted her blessing every night that somehow they still stayed together.   
________________________________  
"You seen your cousin?" Brian asked Bessy. 

"I think she was going to look at the animals the charity brought along." Bessy said taking a sip from her mimosa. The days Bessy Gatto didn't have her kids, she made it a point to enjoy multiple adult beverages. 

Brian groaned, he had been afraid of this. On the ride over he was very clear, no more pets. Three cats was more than enough with their schedules. When he approached the room that was lined with cages of dogs and cats looking for homes, there was his girl sitting on the floor in an expensive cocktail dress snuggled up to a tiny white cat. 

"You don't listen very well do you?" He laughed taking a seat next to her. 

"I'm surprised you haven't come in here yet." She said still stroking the little cat. 

"Because I know I have zero self control. I spend too much time in here and I will adopt every single one of them." He said looking down at the cat now snuggled into Skylar's lap purring away. "This one got your attention I see." 

"She's the sweetest thing ever. One of the charity girls said she was rescued from a home with over 30 animals in it. The place was infested with fleas and garbage. She was skin and bones when the charity got her. Skylar went on explaining everything she knew about the little kitten. "Her eyes got my attention right away, they are gorgeous." Skylar said picking up the cat to show off her piercing blue eyes. 

Brian reached down and read the name on the collar. "Sapphire." He said with an eye roll and a shake of the head. 

"Can't say it's not meant to be." She smiled. 

"Well Sapphire..." Brian said taking her from Skylar, "Looks like you found yourself a home."


	11. If Opportunity Knocks Do You Answer?

"You guys are turning into crazy cat people!" Melrose laughed as she sipped her coffee. 

"Why?!" Skylar defended, "Is four really a lot?" She laughed. 

"Four cats is a lot in my opinion." Melrose smiled. 

Today Skylar and Melrose were together for a coffee date. It had been months since the old friends had gotten together. Melrose was finishing up her final semester of art school soon, something that had always been a dream she thought she'd never achieve. When shit hit the fan with Rocco, Sapphire eventually shut its doors for good and Melrose found herself unemployed. Brian felt very grateful for Melrose's help in finding Rocco so he wanted to help in anyway he could. In addition to getting her a nice paying job with a friend as an assistant he also paid for her first semester of art school. It was a small secret they kept from Skylar; Melrose was stunned when Brian had offered but was a little embarrassed for the assistance so asked if it would be possible to not tell Skylar. Brian agreed and was happy to see the young woman pursue her dream. 

"How's Anna?" Skylar asked as she stirred a bit more milk into her coffee. 

A dorky smile appeared on Melrose's face, "She's fantastic, I literally have never been more in love." 

Skylar was thrilled for her friend. She had known for years that Melrose swayed more towards women than men and even admitted to enjoying her time with Skylar so many moons ago.  However working in a gentlemen's club forced Melrose to pretend to be someone she wasn't. It was nice to see her finally happy. "Does she know..." Skylar started but looked around to make sure no one nearby was listening. 

"That I used to take my clothes off for cash?" Melrose blurted out. Skylar laughed at her friend's forwardness. "No, don't wanna wreck a good thing." Melrose shrugged looking down ashamed. 

This look was one Skylar knew all too well. Their pasts, no matter how successful they became, were never going to disappear. But Skylar was learning to not be ashamed. She did what she had to do, just like Melrose. "If she loves you, she should understand." 

"I know." Melrose agreed. "It's just tough."

"Believe me, I know. Just be grateful your business doesn't end up online and read by bitches all over the world that want your man." Skylar said rolling her eyes. 

"Speaking of that, when are you becoming Mrs. Q?" Melrose teased with a smile. 

"Almost did." Skylar said with a sigh. 

"He proposed?!" Melrose exclaimed. 

"Kinda...he wanted to elope when we were in Vegas awhile back." She explained. 

"Oh shit!" Melrose laughed, "I think I saw that on Twitter, "Q's reformed stripper story." Melrose said using air quotes. "By the way I saw those pictures, you got sloppy girlfriend, your splits used to be so much better!" 

Skylar picked up a sweet n low packet and whipped it across the table, "Fuck you" Skylar laughed, "It's been a few years plus I had been drinking a lot!" 

Melrose responded with a stuck out tongue. After the laughter died down Melrose got serious again, "So has it come up since?" She asked. 

"Not once." Skylar pouted. "I feel like he's happy where we're at." 

"And you're not?" Melrose questioned. 

"For now. But eventually I feel like I'm gonna want things that he doesn't and I don't know what we will do when that day comes." She said sadly. 

Melrose smiled at her friend, she saw signs of Q's love for Skylar long before Skylar saw them. It didn't take an expert to notice the way Brian Quinn looked at her. "Have some faith girl, I don't think there's anything that man wouldn't do for you." 

They carried on with their catching up until Skylar was startled by her work phone. She apologized to Melrose and answered quickly, "This is Skylar Thompson." 

"Hi Skylar, it's Cynthia." A warm strong voice came through the phone. 

"Hi Ms. Fields." Skylar answered a bit nervous on why one of the big wigs from World News was calling. Usually people didn't have much interaction with her unless they were getting fired. "How can I help you?" 

"It's actually how I can help you." Cynthia responded. "I know you aren't working this weekend but I was hoping to meet with you this afternoon." 

"Oh umm..yes of course!" Skylar said. "I'm actually not far from the office. I can come by in about an hour." 

"I would prefer to keep this out of the office if you don't mind." Cynthia answered. "There's an Italian restaurant, Del Villa on 7th. Figured we could meet there for a chat." 

"Sounds good. I'll be there soon." Skylar replied. She hung up and felt incredibly curious on why the top boss would want to meet with her privately.   
________________________________  
On Skylar's way over to meet with Cynthia she called Brian. After much planning and having the Jokers move some stuff around Skylar was able to lock down a day to visit the orphanage again in Jersey. They were set to be there after dinner so Brian suggested him and Skylar go hang at the The Stash in Red Bank for a little bit. Now with these last minute plans she told him to go ahead and she would just have to meet him later on. 

Skylar was led to Cynthia's table upon arrival. "Skylar thank you so much for meeting me on such short notice." She greeted. 

"Anytime Ms. Fields." Skylar said in her most professional manner.

"Please, we aren't at the office, it's Cynthia." She insisted. "I just want to start off my saying you are doing an excellent job." 

"Thank you Ma'am." Skylar smiled her heart ready to leap out of her chest with nervousness.

"And with hard work comes new opportunities. How would you feel about working in Beijing?" Cynthia asked with a kind smile. 

"China?!" Skylar asked, "That would be amazing." She then pulled out her phone to flip through her schedule that was now linked up with Brian's as well. A useful tool to make sure they didn't spend so much time apart anymore. However for a work opportunity in China, she was sure he would understand. "So when would it be?" She asked now that she had her schedule in front of her. 

"Oh no my dear, you misunderstood. You would be there for 18 months." Cynthia explained. When she noticed the look of shock plastered on the younger woman's face she knew she had to explain more. "As you know we recently started broadcasting in Europe and that has been very successful. So it is only natural we keep going and expand into Asia. You would be in charge of our office in Beijing and get it off the ground." 

"Wow." Skylar said with wide eyes. She took a quick sip of water to help clear her throat. 

"It comes with a huge pay increase and will only open more doors for you Skylar." Cynthia kept on going. 

"Ms. Fields with all due respect I couldn't possibly move to China for 18 months. I can't tell you how much I appreciate the offer, believe me!" She said. "But I just...my whole life is New York; my friends, my family..." 

"A man?" Cynthia asked with a smile. 

"Well..yes." Skylar nodded. "I couldn't leave him for 18 months." 

"May I share something with you?" Cynthia asked. 

"Of course." Skylar answered. 

"Years ago, I was given a work opportunity in Paris. It was my dream job." She smiled as she spoke of her past. "But I turned it down for my boyfriend. Like you I couldn't imagine leaving him behind." 

"So then I'm sure you can understand why I can't take this offer." Skylar added. 

"Six months after I should have moved to Paris, we broke up. Realized we were two completely different people. By then it was obviously too late for me. I still to this day wonder what would have happened if I put myself first and took that job. I would hate for you to make the same mistake I did Skylar." Cynthia said. 

"I don't want you to think I'm ungrateful for this opportunity. It's unbelievable you would think of me." Skylar thanked. 

"Nothing is finalized yet. So why don't you take some time and think it over. I don't need an answer for a couple months when documents need to start being submitted for work visas. Take the time to really think about your future."Cynthia said. 

Skylar stared off into space as Cynthia ordered her meal. There was no way she could even consider this and leave her whole life behind. Leave Brian behind.


	12. Thinking With The Heart

Brian and Sal were hanging at The Stash until it was time to head over to St. Elizabeth's. Murray and Joe would be meeting them there as well. "You talk to Skylar?" Sal asked when he saw Brian looking at his phone. 

"Not yet." Brian said taking a swig from his iced tea then resumed flipping through a comic book. 

Walt looked up from his drawing, "Oh yeah wasn't she supposed to be here?"

"Work beckons, Skylar runs." Brian sighed. 

"You know it's not like that." Sal interrupted trying to defend Skylar. 

"Sal please." Brian snapped, "It is like that." He then got up and headed to the front of the store to put back the comic book he was reading. 

Bryan Johnson, who had been listening the entire time made his way over to Walt and Sal, "He's making me nervous lately." Johnson said softly so Q wouldn't overhear. 

"You know how he gets when he's insecure, he turns into a jerk." Sal responded. 

"Has he mentioned anything else about popping the question?" Johnson asked Sal. 

Walt looked up from his drawing again in shock, "Hold on! As in..." 

Sal and Johnson both nodded. They just hoped he wasn't having second thoughts.   
________________________________  
Skylar pulled into the parking lot and saw the Jokers waiting for her. As she gathered the contents of her purse that had spilled out onto the floor of her car she was startled by a tap on the window. 

When she spun around and saw Brian she abandoned her task and opened the door. She pulled him close and kissed him hard. 

"Mmm." Brian moaned wrapping his arms around her. When they broke apart he smiled, "Not that I'm complaining but what's that for?" He asked. 

"I just needed a kiss." She said then brought her hand up to wipe off the lipstick she had marked him with. As she felt Brian's hands on her back and looked into his deep brown eye she realized there was no way she could even consider Cynthia's offer. Being away from him for one night drove her insane, never mind 18 months. Things may not have worked out the way she had hoped but Skylar knew she wasn't going to have the same outcome that Cynthia had. 

Things were still worrying Skylar; Brian still hadn't brought up marriage and he avoided the kid comment she had made awfully quickly. However she wasn't losing faith. She was distracted from her thoughts quickly when her man pushed her against her driver's door and resumed the attack that she had started. She giggled as he began sucking on her neck. "God do I want you." He growled into her hair. 

"You always say that." She teased. 

"Because I always do." He responded biting on her earlobe. 

Suddenly they heard the sound of someone clearing their throat. When they broke apart they were being stared at by the three remaining Jokers. "We about ready?" Joe asked shaking his head trying to hide a smile. It still amazed him how much these two fit. The  one thing that almost ruined one of his tightest friendships was now so natural to see. Everyone knew if you went out to dinner or an event with Q and Skylar be prepared for them to sneak off at some point and make out like two teenagers in a corner. It was just the way their relationship was.

Skylar rubbed her nose against Brian's softly before finally having to break apart. "Thank you all for doing this for me. This really is a great group of kids." 

"Of course!" Murray smiled. He was always up for meeting with fans and the fact that they were kids that had tough lives made it extra special. 

When The Impractical Jokers walked into St. Elizabeth's Orphanage, not only were the kids going crazy but members of the staff were beside themselves. The younger kids weren't exactly sure what the big deal was but older ones that watched the show were running up and giving the guys hugs.

Skylar looked and saw McKenzie, the girl who first expressed her love for the Impractical Jokers. She could tell McKenzie was nervous so she went over to try and convince her to come over. 

"I can't believe you know the Jokers!" She shouted when she saw Skylar.

"Did I leave that part out?" Skylar smiled. "Come on." She said grabbing the girl's hand. 

"Hey guys." Skylar said as she walked closer with a shaking McKenzie. "This is a huge fan. She told me she saved up all her money for a shirt."

After getting a hug with each of the guys Murray and Sal grabbed a box behind them that contained shirts, posters, and other merchandise and gave McKenzie first pick of whatever she wanted. The young girl was in tears, she was so happy. 

As Brian was talking to everyone and high fiving the kids he noticed Skylar's mind seemed to be elsewhere. "Baby?" He called out trying to get her attention. "Babe.." he called out a second time after she didn't answer. "Skylar!" He yelled now shaking her arm gently. 

"Huh?!" She jumped. 

"What's wrong with you today? You're completely out of it." Brian commented. 

The program director Krystal was in sight and Skylar called her over, "Where is Shiloh?" She asked. "I haven't seen her this whole time." 

"Who?" Brian asked inserting himself into the conversation. 

Skylar wasn't intentionally ignoring her boyfriend but was just concerned on the little girl's whereabout. 

Krystal have a sad smile, "Shiloh had a bit of a rough night, she's probably in her room resting." 

"Rough night? What do you mean?" Skylar insisted to know. 

"I'm really not supposed to give personal information out about the kids." Krystal said unsure of what to do but this woman seemed to be very concerned for the little girl. "Follow me." Krystal whispered. 

Skylar followed with Brian not far behind. He had no idea his girlfriend was so invested in one of the kids here. Krystal led them to an empty conference room and pulled out a file from the cabinet. "Again I can get in a lot of trouble sharing information with you without going through the proper steps but you seemed to have made a connection with Shiloh the last time you were here." Krystal slid the folder over to Skylar. Brian leaned in looking on. Never once had Skylar mentioned any of these children by name. 

"Shiloh is a sweet special little girl that had a very hard start to life. Her mother was a teen mom that got disowned by her family when she became pregnant by a much older man. Shiloh's father was married and had a family. When Shiloh was about two, her mother took her to meet her father and unfortunately things took a traumatic turn." 

As Krystal explained the story, Skylar was reading the file. "He killed her." Skylar gasped when she read the words on the page. She covered her mouth in horror. 

"And the little girl was there when it happened?" Brian asked.

Krystal's eyes filled with tears, this story always broke her heart. "She saw everything. Her mother was murdered in front of her. When neighbors heard the commotion they called 911. Police walked in to Shiloh hugging her mother's lifeless body." 

Skylar has tears rolling down her face at the horrific story. Krystal reaches behind her to grab a tissue for herself and for Skylar. "She has pretty bad night terrors still to this day. That is why it's almost impossible to place her in a foster home. No one wants to put in the effort with her. Last night was a pretty bad one I guess. Took two of my staff members to get her under control last night." 

"Jesus Christ." Brian whispered under his breath. 

"And the other kids?" Skylar questioned. "Shiloh told me a lot of the kids are mean to her and don't like to play with her. Is this why?" 

"A lot of the kids make fun of her for wetting the bed." Krystal answered. "Plus in some of these night terrors she can become violent. There's been a couple times she is so out of it that she has hit or kicked another child." 

"But that's not her fault!" Skylar exclaimed. 

Brian immediately placed his hand over his girlfriend's to calm her. As Krystal left the room Skylar sat flipping through Shiloh's file tears falling more and more by the second. There wasn't anything Brian could do but sit and process everything he just heard as his girl sobbed next to him heartbroken.   
________________________________  
"Where have you two been? Seriously at a kids home?" Joe joked. He suddenly stopped laughing when he noticed the look in the couple's eyes. "What's wrong?" 

"It's nothing." Skylar said but her eyes were still so red and puffy, it was evident she had been crying. 

Joe tried locking eyes with Q but he was too busy looking at Skylar. Something was clearly wrong. 

The guys spent more time with the kids taking pictures but there time was coming to an end. Suddenly a little voice entered the room. "You came back." 

Skylar turned and smiled at the little blonde girl in a faded My Little Pony shirt. "I did. And I heard you were taking a nap." She said kneeling down next to the girl. 

"You didn't wear your pink shoes." She pointed out. 

Skylar chuckled, "You're right, I didn't. Sorry about that." 

"It's okay!" Shiloh exclaimed then quickly wrapped her arms around Skylar's neck for a tight hug. As Skylar squeezed the little girl tight she noticed her hair was missing in places, almost like it was ripped out. She couldn't help but wonder if that happened last night during her night terror. 

Brian looked on as Skylar sat with Shiloh. This wasn't just any little girl, he knew Skylar and saw had seen her interact with plenty of children over the years. However the way she was looking and talking to this little girl was like nothing he had ever seen before. When he looked up he noticed Krystal make eye contact with him. She was seeing it too.   
________________________________  
After leaving St. Elizabeth's everyone was starving so decided to grab something to eat before heading back to New York. Shiloh didn't handle Skylar leaving okay and eventually had to be brought back to her room to calm down. 

All the guys could sense that Skylar was acting off. She wasn't talking much and was just picking at her food. Brian and Joe were looking at one another, both equally concerned. Perhaps spending too much time with kids that didn't have parents was bothering Skylar more than she was letting on. 

As the guys tried making jokes to lighten to mood Skylar finally spoke for the first time since arriving at the restaurant, "I think I want to look into fostering Shiloh." 

Everyone froze. Eyes shifted to Brian as he stared at Skylar in disbelief. After blinking a few times he stopped their waitress who was walking by. "Can I grab another beer please?" He then brought his hands over his face, he knew his girlfriend wasn't thinking clearly at the moment. Once his beer was in front of him he took a long sip. "Alright." He said coming up for air. 

"Alright what?" Skylar snapped. 

Brian gave her a sideways look as a way of saying, 'keep your attitude in check'. "Listen babe, I know you have formed a fondness for this little girl and as awful of a hand as she was dealt in life, you know we wouldn't be able to do this." 

"I didn't say anything about you, I said me." Skylar quickly argued. 

"Oh I'm sorry, do I not live there too?!" Brian barked.

"Hey guys.." Murray interrupted noticing the table next to them was starting to stare.

"I think you both need a second. Skylar you can't make such a big decision so lightly and without talking to Q about it." Joe said trying to defuse this fight that literally just came out of nowhere. 

"Thank you." Brian said, "Listen to me..." he said turning back to his girlfriend, "This little girl is gonna need so many things, doctors, therapy, probably some medication. We can't take this on, we don't have the time. You heard it yourself, no one has been able to handle this child." 

"And why is that?!" Skylar snapped. "Because society has already made their opinion about her and decided she isn't worth it?!" 

"What?" Brian asked cocking his head to the side in confusion, "Are we talking about Shiloh or Skylar?" 

As the couple continued their heated discussion all the three remaining jokers could do was sit and watch. After having enough of this, Brian finally put his hand up, "Skylar, I said no. Now enough of this, we can't take this on!" 

"You said no?!" Skylar repeated taken aback, "I'm sorry are you my father? You don't tell me what to do!" 

"No I'm not your father but I can guarantee if he was here he would be telling you how stupid you sound right now!" Brian shouted. 

"Alright enough!" Joe finally butt in after that major stone was just thrown. 

"I am so fucking glad we took separate cars to this." She responded shaking her head. "I'll see you later!" And with that she quickly got up and stormed out of the restaurant. 

Brian turned to his best friends, "Am I wrong because please tell me if I am?!" 

All three were in agreement that Brian was definitely not wrong. "She just has a really big heart I think ...but you're right, you guys don't have the time to take on a foster kid." Murray said. 

"This isn't a decision you can make in 10 minutes." Sal added. "It's going to effect both of your lives. 

Joe had been quiet since Skylar stormed off. He contemplated calling Bessy but held off. "She feels some sort of connection with this little girl. You know once Skylar gets attached to someone, it's almost impossible for her to let go." He said looking at Brian. "You know how she gets man. You gotta try and explain this to her as rationally as possible."   
_______________________________  
Skylar hadn't been home for long when Brian showed up. She heard the front door slam and noticed 4 cats scatter in every direction. "Alright...." He said walking into the living room and taking a deep breath, "I don't wanna fight or yell." 

"Good neither do I." She responded. 

"Baby you have to know this isn't something we can do. I feel awful for this kid but we don't have the time or knowledge on taking care of a child with so much trauma. We aren't home enough. I mean Jesus...we gotta pay people constantly to come feed the cats." Brian said trying to keep his voice under control. 

"Then maybe I can take a break from work, focus on getting her the help she needs." Skylar said. 

Brian immediately started pacing the floor at the ridiculous idea of Skylar quitting her job; one that she worked so hard to get. "Do you fucking hear yourself?! This is insane Skylar!" 

"Do you think it's insane or are you just avoiding a serious commitment?" She finally asked as he went to walk away.

"Excuse me?!" He shouted turning around to face her. 

"You heard me." She answered, "Are you just avoiding this idea because you don't want marriage and kids?" 

Brian's blood was not boiling with rage, if there was one thing he hated it was being doubted, especially by someone he loved like Skylar. "I fucking asked you to marry me in Vegas, you idiot!" 

"And I heard the sigh of relief when I said no." She countered standing up to stand toe to toe with him. "And you completely blew off my question when I asked about kids of our own someday!" 

"Because we had been drinking all fucking day! Not the most appropriate time to have a serious conversation!" He yelled back. 

Skylar rolled her eyes, "Just admit it, you would be perfectly happy to leave things exactly how they are! You have no intentions of proposing or starting a family!" 

Brian stared at her in disbelief, he shook his head then made his way down the hall into his home office. Skylar figured the fight was over and took her seat on the couch again. Few moments later Brian appeared in front of her once again slamming down an opened ring box on the coffee table. "There's your fucking proposal Skylar!" After getting his point across he stomped up the stairs slamming the bedroom door loudly. 

Skylar stared down in shock. She picked up the box and studied the most gorgeous diamond she had ever seen. She was wrong, Brian was ready to make the ultimate commitment to her.


	13. Secrets From The Past

Skylar never came to bed last night and the folded up blanket downstairs was a clue to him that she slept on the couch. Also the steamed up mirror in the downstairs bathroom was another clue that she hadn't even come into their room to take a shower in the master bath. The ring box he basically threw at her last night was closed and sitting on the counter next to his keys with the ring still in it. 

The guys weren't due on set at the park until much later in the afternoon so Brian had some time to kill and knew the only person he could talk to at the moment. He took the drive to Long Island and showed up on the Gattos doorstep. Joe answered the door still in his pajamas. "Let me guess...Skylar?" Joe asked shaking his head and stepping aside so his friend could come in. 

"She has absolutely lost her fucking mind Joe!" Brian shouted. 

The men navigated into the kitchen where Bessy had just finished feeding Remo. "Morning Q." Bessy smiled, "This is a surprise." 

"Your cousin has completely gone off the deep end!" He said being mindful of his language in front of the kids but still showing his total frustration. 

"Milana go in the living and put the TV on for you and your brother." Bessy ordered. 

When the kids were gone, she went and poured Q a cup of coffee setting it in front of him. Joe had told her a little bit last night but she was still a little confused. "She wants to foster? Don't you have to be certified for that kind of thing?" 

Brian took a sip wincing at the hotness of the coffee, "I have no idea." He said shaking his head. "But the thing that really pisses me off is how much of a brat she can act like. Whenever things don't go her way she yells and throws a tantrum like a toddler. Like I do everything in my power to make that girl happy!" 

Bessy and Joe knew Q wasn't wrong. Skylar did have very bratty tendencies from time to time. Also Brian did great Skylar like a Queen. She was just as lucky to have him as he was to have her. 

"Have you both had the kid talk?" Bessy asked. 

"Not really." Brian answered. "I mean she wanted to after we got back from watching your kids but I kinda changed the subject." 

"I told you bud, you gotta have this talk. Especially if you're planning on proposing." Joe said. 

Bessy's head spun around quickly, "Wait what?! You're proposing?!" She exclaimed with a huge smile on her face. 

Brian rolled his eyes in annoyance, "Why is everyone so shocked about me asking Skylar to marry me?! I got shot for this fucking girl." He growled. 

"We know." Bessy smiled trying to calm an angry Q. The days of him having to prove himself to her family were long over. No one in Bessy's family doubted it; they all loved Q so much. 

"Plus I kinda blew the surprise anyways." He said. 

"Whatta mean you blew it?" Joe questioned. 

"She just kept saying how I wasn't ever going to commit to her so I slammed the ring down in front of her and stormed off." He explained, "Not the most romantic proposal I had planned." He sighed. This entire situation was one huge mess now. 

"Oh wait you already have a ring?!" Bessy asked almost floored. She didn't think Q was this far in the process. 

He didn't know why he left the house with it but he suddenly pulled the ring from his pocket and slid it over to Bessy. 

"Holy shit!" Joe exclaimed looking over his wife's shoulder. 

"Brian this is beautiful." Bessy said as she examined it. 

"This must have cost you..." Joe started to say. 

"Let's just say thank god we got picked up for 3 more seasons." Brian finished shaking his head. 

"Three carats?" Bessy asked holding it up to the light. 

Brian nodded his head, "One for every year I've known her." 

Bessy's eyes started to water, "That is so sweet." She smiled. 

"Had a whole speech planned out in my head and everything. We were supposed to be going to the lake house next month, I was gonna do it there." Brian said sadly so pissed he ruined the surprise just because he was angry. 

Bessy handed the ring back to Brian. "Let's say you could figure out how to make time for it, do you want to foster this little girl? Do you even want kids at all?" 

"This girl is going to be a lot of work." Brian sighed. 

"All kids are work." Bessy countered back. 

"No you don't understand this girl is going to need a lot more than an average kid. Like we're talking deep therapy, probably looking at PTSD, severe nightmares." Brian tried to explain. 

"Why's that?" Bessy asked. 

“She watched her father murder her mother. According to her file, she was there the whole time and then left alone with the body until police got there.” Brian said getting a sick feeling in his stomach repeating the facts of the story. 

“Honey?” Joe asked when he saw the look of horror on his wife’s face, “You okay?” 

Tears filled Bessy Gatto’s eyes as she came to an understanding of why this was so important to Skylar. “Q doesn’t this make sense to you? Don’t you understand why Skylar feels such a protection over this little girl?” 

“I know, she lost her parents young. I get all that Bessy.” Q started to say.

“That’s not what I’m talking about.” Bessy said shaking her head. However when she saw the look of confusion on his face she realized he was completely in the dark. “Skylar never told you?” 

“Told me what?” He asked. 

“About her real dad?” Bessy answered. 

“Real dad?” Joe questioned having no idea about this long time family secret. 

“I would have thought she would have told you at some point over the years.” Bessy said. She then cleared her throat before beginning. “It’s been a deeply buried secret in our family for so long. Skylar’s dad that she talks about all the time...he’s not her real birth father.” 

Brian was shocked. He thought he knew everything about his girlfriend. “So where is he?” 

“Last we all heard, in and out of prison. Dawn got pregnant with Skylar by her boyfriend at the time. Guy was a complete asshole and beat her everyday. No one in the family knew things were so bad though. The way the story has been told to me was one day when Skylar was about 1 she wouldn’t stop crying and I guess he couldn’t take it and slapped her so hard she fell out of her high chair. That was Dawn’s final straw and she had him arrested and left him. They came to stay with us for awhile and eventually Dawn saved enough money for her own apartment. Year later she met Rick and he raised Skylar as his own.” 

Brian looked at Joe who was equally as shocked to hear this. Never in all the years of being with Bessy had he heard this story. 

“It’s been a big thing in the family we don’t speak about. Skylar didn’t even find out until she was in middle school that Rick wasn’t her real dad.” Bessy said then chuckled a bit thinking back to how angry an 11 year old Skylar became at her parents. “She had been digging around in the attic one day and came across her birth certificate and obviously learned the truth when there was a different man’s name on it.” 

Brian cleated his throat, “I had no idea. Why wouldn’t she share that with me?” 

“My guess is she tries to not remember it. Her dad is her dad and the man that raised her in her mind. To my knowledge she hasn’t seen him since she was a baby.” Bessy answered. “But now do you understand? She feels so strongly about this because she wants to save this little girl...like Rick saved her.”  
________________________________  
Brian drove around for a little bit to clear his head. All of this new information was clogging his brain. He knew he wanted Skylar forever and from the first moment he had her in his arms he knew she was going to change his life. As he came over the bridge into Manhattan he decided to make one more stop before having to head to set. 

He had been to Skylar’s office on plenty of occasions. Picking her up for dinner or sneaking her lunch when he had time. He got a visitors badge from downstairs and took the elevator ride up. 

Skylar was in her office trying to go over notes for an upcoming story. She hadn’t spoken to Brian since their fight last night. In their entire relationship they always took time in the morning to talk before starting their days, even if they were traveling. So not having any contact with him was a weird unsettling feeling. However her need to help Shiloh was weighing heavily on her. There was a knock on her door and she expected it to be Brock so they could go over details of the story but she was stunned when it wasn’t Brock. 

“Brian?” She said standing up as he walked in. 

“I hate fighting with you.” He immediately said. 

She smiled, this was a good start. “I hate fighting with you.” Brian shut the door and Skylar quickly made her way in his arms hugging her as tight as she could. She glanced up and kissed his lips. “I know you think I’m crazy and maybe I am but...” 

Brian grabbed her face between his palms “Why did you never tell me about your birth dad?” 

Skylar’s gaze fell. Even though she thought about it from time to time, no one spoke about it out loud so it was odd to actually hear. “Bessy?” 

Brian nodded. “You could have shared that with me. I didn’t think we had secrets.” 

“It wasn’t something I was keeping from you intentionally. It’s just not something I’m used to talking about. I didn’t find out until I was older and even after that my mom never wanted to address it. No one in my family did. All I really know is he was very abusive.” Skylar explained. 

“Is this why you are so involved with this little girl?” Brian asked. 

“I can’t stop thinking about what she has been through Brian.” Skylar began to cry. 

Brian knew Skylar and when she was upset all he could do was hold her so that’s exactly what he did.


	14. Deals and Promises

It had been a long grueling day for Skylar. Before Brian left to head to set they promised to talk when he got home; really talk not fight. She was too consumed with her thoughts and ended up taking a half day. 

When she got home, she took a bubble bath and then snuggled in bed with four cats cuddled around her. She sighed contently at how her life had turned out. When Brian brought up her birth father it brought back an unsettling feeling of what life could have been like if her mom didn't have the courage to leave. Here she was 24 with a successful career living with the most amazing man. They fought, sure, but him coming to her office today spoke volumes. Him holding her while she broke down, spoke volumes. 

Reaching over on the nightstand she grabbed her laptop and began researching fostering and the steps on how to go about. After reading everything she could find on the topic she eventually dozed off.   
_______________________________  
Skylar felt a light kiss against her cheek. "You call me old? I'm not the one falling asleep at 6 o'clock." Brian joked taking a seat on the bed. 

She smiled before opening her eyes. "Hi." She said sitting up to kiss his lips. 

Brian kicked off his boots and shooed her over so he could climb in bed next to her. He placed his hat on the night stand and pulled her close. Before saying anything he noticed her laptop opened beside her. The New Jersey Department of Children and Families website was still up. "I think it's time we actually talked about this." 

"I know I overreacted and acted like a brat Brian. I'm sorry." She apologized sitting up and leaning against the headboard of the bed. 

"I wish you would have talked to me alone instead of in front of everyone." Brian said. 

"I know that was wrong too. I guess my mind was just racing and I didn't know how to express how I was feeling properly." She responded. 

"I get it and after hearing more about your past, I get it even more now." Brian said, "But Skylar this is a lot that your asking me to take on." 

"I know." She said looking down at her hands. "And I guess I just freaked out on you because I feel like you've been avoiding talking about our future." 

Brian took a deep breath. He had given a lot of thoughts on having kids with Skylar the past couple days. "Of course I want all those things with you." He smiled. 

"Really?!" She said perking up immediately. 

Brian couldn't hold in his laugh, she just looked so adorable. "Yes." He said rolling his eyes. "Getting married, finding out your pregnant, watching you grow our child, seeing you rock our baby to sleep. I want it all honey." 

Skylar's eyes instantly watered, "You really think about all that stuff?" She asked, not believing these words were actually coming from Brian Quinn's mouth. 

"It's incredibly scary but yes. Yes I do." He said shaking his head. It was literally like another person was possessing his body. Never did he imagine having these thoughts. Having a little girl call him daddy and watching her run around the yard picking flowers or playing catch with their son and going to all his games. A world Brian never thought he would a part of. 

Skylar immediately kissed him hard. "I love you. I love you. I love you." She said between each kiss. There was a time she saw herself giving all that up for Brian but now knowing she could have the perfect family with him was making her heart feel fuller than it ever had before. 

"That's in the future." He said being clear that he wasn't picturing that just yet. "Right now we need to discuss the present." 

Skylar immediately crashed from her high. She let out a heavy sigh, "I can't get Shiloh out of my mind." 

"It's an awful thing she's been through." Brian agreed. "But do you really think we are the best people to take her on. Realistically Skylar?" 

"I've given it a lot of thought..." Skylar started. 

"Quitting your job is not an option!" Brian quickly interrupted firmly. "That I just wont allow." Money wise he knew he could more than support them but there was no way he was going to have Skylar give up her dreams. 

"Maybe I was slightly overreacting when I said I was gonna quit." She smirked. 

"Slightly?" He said with a cocked eyebrow. 

"I talked to one of the other producers and it may be an option to change my travel schedule. Only take stories in the tri-state area. That way I can be home everyday. I would take a little bit of a pay cut but people have done it before." Skylar explained.

Brian was silent for a moment thinking about it. It would be great to have her home a lot more. "Alright...let's say I am considering this..." 

Skylar's smile got bright when she realized Brian may very well be on board with this. Brian quickly held up his hand to pause her. "IF we are gonna do this, we need more information about Shiloh, her challenges, the entire process. We can't go into this blind." 

"I agree." Skylar said. 

"Call and set up a meeting with the agency and we'll go from there. Okay?" He instructed. 

Skylar was immediately up and hugging him so tightly. She grabbed his face and kissed him multiple times. Brian smiled into each kiss. "Thank you for understanding." She said rubbing her nose against his. 

"I'm not saying its a for sure thing. There's a lot of stuff to work out still. This may be too much right now." He said trying to explain praying to God she didn't get her heart broken. "Haven't I always said I want to take care of you?" he smiled, repeated the promise he made to her so long ago. 

That is when something went off in Skylar's head. "Speaking of taking care of..." She smiled, "Isn't there a certain diamond downstairs in your office?" 

"No?" he said looking confused. 

Skylar's expression had fallen. Did he return it after their fight last night? "Oh you mean this?" He said cracking a smile and pulling out a small ring box from his pocket. Skylar squealed with delight and got up on her knees bouncing with excitement on the bed. "I think I'm gonna hold onto it a little while longer." he said with a smirk. 

"What?" she asked disappointment flooding her voice. 

"I will propose to you when and how I want to and its certainly not gonna be in the middle of a fight." He said kissing her on the cheek and returning the ring box to the safety of his sweatshirt pocket. Brian couldn't help but laugh when he saw her bottom lip stick out in a pout. "Don't even try it baby." he said poking it back in with his thumb. 

"I guess that's fair." She sighed. "But can I just look at in one more time? Please?!" 

"Absolutely not." Brian laughed but firmly putting his foot down. Skylar could win a lot of arguments with those looks but this wasn't gonna be one of them. 

Skylar was pulled from her thoughts by her phone buzzing on the bed. She looked over the text and rolled her eyes, "Bessy's on her way by. Says she worried about me." 

Brian laughed, "What else is new?!" 

"Don't you have Billy's bachelor party tonight anyways?" Skylar asked remembering her boyfriend had mentioned it last week. 

"Yeah... but I don't think I'm gonna go." He answered. 

"Why not? You were looking forward to it. All the firehouse guys, you should go." Skylar insisted. 

"You sure?" he asked. 

"Seriously, I'm fine. We're fine.There's no reason for you not to go." She responded. 

"You do know its at a...." he started to say. 

"Strip club? Yeah I assumed. Its a bachelor party..duh!" She laughed. "Go and come home nice and horny for me." she smiled biting her bottom lip. 

________________________________________________________________________________

Bessy had just arrived with wine and movies as Brian was coming down the stairs from the shower. He was wearing dark jeans and a basic black button down shirts. His hair was still wet from the shower and had that bad boy look that always drove Skylar insane. It took everything in her power to tell Brian forget it and kick her cousin out. If there was one thing they enjoyed more than anything, it was rough hot makeup sex. 

After chatting with Bessy for a few minutes, a car of excited rowdy firemen pulled into the driveway. "That's my ride." he smiled leaning down to kiss his girl. Bessy looked on as they embraced; she really couldn't be any happier for her cousin and Q. 

"Tip the dancers well." Skylar said smiling brightly with a wink. 

"Like I used to tip you?" he said wiggling his eyebrows up and down. 

"Umm yeah... not that good!" she exclaimed. 

"Alright!" Bessy interrupted, "Certain things I don't need to hear about you two." She said scrunching her face in disgust. She would always be proud of her cousin but Bessy Gatto would never be fine with the fact that Skylar stripped for years. 

The couple laughed at Bessy's comment. "Say it." Brian smiled kissing her one more time. 

"Love you." Skylar responded. As Brian turned to head out, Skylar reached out to slap his ass, "Be safe. Call me or take a cab if no one can drive." 

"Yes dear!" he yelled back as he headed out the door. 

"You guys good?" Bessy asked when Brian was gone. 

"Better than good. We talked earlier." She answered. "Let me grab a bottle opener and then I'll tell you everything." 

________________________________________________________________________________

It was great catching up with her cousin. As they polished off the wine and flipped through looking for a movie to watch, the doorbell rang. "At this hour?" Bessy asked.

Skylar gave the door a questioning look peeking out the window to see who it could be. "Hey Brock." She said opening it pretty confused. 

"Skylar! Hey!" He greeted, "Sorry to bother you but I got my hands on these reports and thought you might want to look at them for our story next week." 

Skylar took them glancing over the figures. The state of California has decided to suddenly dismiss a judge not explaining why. Skylar and Brock were supposed to be investigating why. By this information that Brock dug up, seems he wasn't the most honorable of judges. However they still needed to find out why it was being kept so secret. "Brock this stuff is great, thank you!" She smiled. 

"Anytime. Again sorry to pop in but I just couldn't wait to show you." He said. "Hope Brian won't be mad." 

"Oh he's actually not home. Just me and my cousin having a girls night." She said pointing to Bessy on the couch. Bessy waved friendly but was watching this guy like a hawk; he certainly had other intentions then just dropping off reports. 

"There actually is another reason I dropped by." Brock admitted, "I heard about the job offer you got...Beijing? Skylar that's huge!" 

"How did you...?" Skylar began to ask. 

"We work for a news program, people talk." He laughed. 

"Then I'm sure your sources informed you I turned it down." She said. 

"You should really consider it. That would be huge for your career." Brock insisted. 

"I'm sure it would but my home is New York. I couldn't even consider something like that." She responded.

"I can understand. Well I'll let you ladies get back to your night." He said. "Nice to meet you!" He waved to Bessy. "See you later Skylar!" 

After Brock was gone Bessy gave Skylar the death stare. "What?!" Skylar exclaimed. 

"First off your reporter has the hots for you." Bessy scolded. 

"Oh please Bes, he does not." Skylar rolled her eyes. 

"Who drops by at 9 o'clock at night to drop something off? Can't that be emailed?" Bessy responded. 

"I guess it could." She muttered now with a questioning look on her face. Skylar was just beyond grateful Brian wasn't home. He would have been nice to Brock's face but once he left Skylar would have definitely gotten an earful about him just popping in. 

"And second of...Beijing? As in China?" Bessy questioned. 

"I got an offer to open up there Asian office but obviously am not taking it." Skylar said. 

"Does Q know?" Bessy asked. 

"Why would I tell him about something I'm not even considering?" Skylar snapped, "Can we just forget it and pick a movie please?"   
________________________________  
"Ouch...fuck!" Skylar heard coming up the stairs. She looked over at the clock that read 1:20. Brian was home and by the sounds of it very drunk. 

He stumbled into their room trying his hardest to be quiet but failing miserably. Suddenly Skylar heard a cat meow out very loudly after getting its tail stepped on. "Fuck sorry." Brian said in his best attempt at a whisper voice. 

"Ya know..." Skylar laughed turning on the lamp on the nightstand. " Don't ever go into bank robbery, you would suck at it." She laughed. 

"Did I wake you?" He asked collapsing on the bed to try and take his boots off. 

" Just a little." She smiled. "Have fun?" 

"Yeah." He answered, "You should have seen Chief! He could so hammered, one of the girls dragged him up on stage." He laughed as he told the story. 

Skylar smiled as she listening to Brian talk about his firemen buddies. It was a part of his life he was always so desperate to hang onto. Anytime he could leave Q behind and slip back into that world, he always got this dumb glow on his face. Over the years Skylar had gotten multiple chances to hang out with Brian and his old firehouse, and he always had the best times with them. 

After about 5 minutes, Brian was finally able to get his boots and pants off and roll in bed next to his girl. "Oh my god!" She said laughing hysterically, "You smell like you poured and entirely bottle of whiskey over yourself!" With the light still on she looked over and saw his shirt and face where covered in small specs of glitter. Prime clue number one that a man was at a strip club was when they come home with glitter all over themselves. 

Although very drunk, Brian noticed Skylar looking at the glitter covering him, “Chief may have bought all of us lap dances." He said hoping his girl wouldn't be upset. 

"Oh really?" She asked cocking her eyebrow questionable. 

"I couldn't really say no...well I guess I could have..but it was just in fun." Brian started stumbling in a drunken rant. 

"Did she do it right?" Skylar asked now fully awake and in the mood to tease her man. 

"Huh?" He asked, eyes only half open from the massive amounts of alcohol he had in his system. 

"I asked did she do it right?" Skylar repeated getting up. "Because I like to think you've had some pretty good lap dances so I just wanna know where this one ranks." 

Brian smiled when he saw Skylar stand up in just a small tank top and tiny boy shorts. "It's was probably like a 6 out of 10." He answered. 

"Hmmm...." She answered pulling down her boy shorts to reveal her naked pussy. "6 outta 10 ain't bad but let's see if we can do better than that." She whispered pulling Brian's hand to get him to sit up. Pulling her tank top over her head, she tossed it over his shoulder and stood completely naked in front of her man. 

"Mmm....so hot." Brian moaned instantly hardening in his boxers. Skylar dropped to her knees in front of the bed and began sliding Brian's boxers down. His dick sprang free and she licked her lips admiring her man. 

He reached out to touch her but quickly had his hand slapped away. "You know the rules, no touching the dancers!" She teased. 

Even thought highly intoxicated, Brian was fully ready for whatever Skylar had planned. "Is Lacey ready?" Brian whispered as Skylar leaned forward to kiss his cheek softly. 

"Do you want Lacey tonight?" She asked climbing on the bed next to him so she could twerk her ass up and down for him.

"Fuck yeah." He answered as Skylar started to suck on his neck. Skylar could be bad but Lacey was always badder. 

Skylar continued sucking and biting his neck, "You're so sexy baby." She whispered against his ear. "Those other girls would have no idea how to please you though." 

"Mmm..." Brian moaned, "But you do baby." 

Skylar swung her leg over to straddle her man. She brought her lips close to his but never actually leaned in for the kiss; a trick she used at Sapphire many times. Brian brought his hands down her back and over her ass squeezing it hard. "You're so fucking sexy baby." Brian growled out. He saw a lot of hot girls tonight but none of them would ever hold a candle to the one he came home to. 

Skylar reached down between then grabbing his cock. "Remember the first time we were alone and you made it clear you wouldn't be fucking me?" She asked. 

"Yeah." He smirked, "How wrong I was." 

"So instead of sitting on your nice hard cock that night I did something a little different." She said bringing him over her pussy and rubbing herself with him. 

"Fuck baby." He moaned out feeling the tip of himself get wet from Skylar's center. Skylar closed her eyes and cried out as she made herself cum with the help of her man. 

Once she was down from her high she quickly sat on him and bounced up and down repeatedly fucking him as hard as she could.

"God Skylar you're so fucking incredible." He said putting his head back in pure bliss. 

It wasn't long until Brian was cumming hard with Skylar still on his lap. Skylar knew between the massive amounts of whiskey and beer he consumed tonight he wasn't the most trustworthy at the moment with preventing her from falling so she held onto his neck tightly until she was ready to hop off. 

She slipped into the bathroom quickly to clean up and when she returned there was Brian with just his dress shirt on passed out. Skylar quietly flipped the light off and climbed in on her side of the bed. Almost instantaneously Brian pulled her close against his chest kissing behind her ear. "I just want to take care of you Skylar." He drunkly mumbled. 

She wasn't even sure if he was awake when he said it but the sleepy confession brought a smile to her face. "You always do baby." She responded snuggling back into his body and falling asleep herself.


	15. Dishonesty and Answers

"You've gotta be kidding me." Brian sighed talking to himself. "Skylar!!" He shouted.   
"Skylar!" He continued to yell when there was no answer. 

Skylar was downstairs in the home office when she heard her boyfriend yelling like his head was on fire. She pushed off against the desk in the office chair and made her way around the corner. As she rounded to head up the stairs, there was Brian holding his favorite pair of RedWing Heritage leather boots. "This needs to stop!" He grumbled looking pretty pissed off. 

"What's wrong?" Skylar asked innocently but had a good idea what he was talking about due to the condition of the boots. 

"This cat is destroying everything in the house!" He exclaimed pointing to the hundreds of bite and claw marks on the boots. 

"You can't necessarily blame Sapphire. There are three other cats in this house ya know!" Skylar argued back. 

Brian gave Skylar a look like she had lost her mind, "My cats have never destroyed anything in all the years I've had them! All this shit started when she came along!" Brian fought back pointing to the little white kitten who poked her head out from an open closet. 

Skylar immediately picked up the white cat and cuddled her scratching under her chin to get her purring. She knew Sapphire was to blame for all the new scratches and broken things around the house. Benjamin,Chessy, and Brooklyn were well behaved for the most part. The worst was a month ago she chewed through the power cord to Brian's Ghostbusters pinball machine. After dinner that night he went to play it and when he noticed the destroyed cord, Skylar was certain he was going to get rid of the cat, she had never seen him so mad. With it being a limited edition machine, it cost some serious cash to fix. Luckily Brian would always be a softy for animals and was an even bigger softy for Skylar. 

Skylar held Sapphire up close to Brian's face, "I'm sorry Daddy!" Skylar said in a baby voice hiding her face behind the kitten. "I wuv you, please don't kick me out into the cold." She continued moving the kitten from side to side as if she was really talking. 

Brian's scowl began to drop. He grumbled in frustration knowing there was nothing he could say. Skylar loved this cat and if he was being honest he loved her as well. She was definitely a fresh kitten but one look into that sweet furry face and he couldn't be mad anymore. Most nights, much to the three other cats' distain, Sapphire would sit on Brian's chest and use her paw to bat at his beard. It was a little game she started and one of his favorite things was watching TV in bed with Skylar at his side as the kitten fell asleep on top of him. 

Brian rolled his eyes and took the cat from his girl. "Stop wrecking my shit." He said to the cat cradling her in his arms like a baby as he rubbed her belly. 

He looked over at Skylar who was smiling relieved he wasn't too mad anymore. "Shouldn't you be getting ready?" He asked. 

"Just had to email Brock and Cynthia about not coming in tomorrow. Heading to shower now." Skylar answered. Tonight was a network party that Skylar would be going to. At first she didn't like going with Brian to red carpet events with so much press, especially when everything about Rocco and her past first came out. It seemed for some time that was all anyone wanted to ask Brian about. However that was ancient history and after some convincing from Joe and Bessy she now accompanied Brian when schedules allowed. 

"I got all that paperwork, we still need to fill out baby." Skylar reminded. 

"Yeah I saw it on the table, pretty huge packet." Brian responded. "Meetings not til noon, we'll have time to fill it out in the morning." 

Brian was referring to the paperwork that St. Elizabeth's had sent over in regards to being considered as foster parents for Shiloh. Since they weren't registered foster parents with the state, they needed to fill out all this background information and get references from people. Joe and Bessy had written a great one as well as Simmy, one of the executive producers for Tru, who had become a close friend of Brian's over the years. He was a little shocked when Brian had asked him if he would write one, the idea of Brian Quinn wanting to be a foster parent was something he would only see when hell froze over but he was honored and had all the faith in the pair.  
________________________________  
“Knock knock!” Joe Gatto called out walking into the Quinn/Thompson house. Bessy and Skylar wanted to grab dinner before the event so they were here early to head out together. 

“Hey guys.” Brian called out from the kitchen. He greeted Bessy with a kiss on the cheek when they entered, “Looking beautiful Bes.” He complimented. 

“Thanks. You’re not looking so bad yourself Q.” She smiled. Her cousin had definitely given Brian a push in the right direction when it came to dressing up. He used to absolutely hate going to events like this because a suit was the last thing he wanted to wear however now he didn’t mind it as much because he knew his girl enjoyed seeing him dressed up nice. He was still a jeans and T-shirt kind of guy but every so often it wouldn’t kill him. 

As the three chatted Skylar was upstairs obsessing over her outfit. These kind of events always made her nervous because she wanted to look perfect. She would always have those fans that would never think she was good enough for Q so she always made sure she looked as best as she could. 

She heard Joe cracking a joke as usual as she entered the kitchen. Just as she was about to say hi to her cousin, Brian’s jaw hit the floor. “Woah.” He said looking over and placing his beer on the counter so he could walk over to her. 

“Is it too much?!” Skylar asked instantly nervous her dress was too fancy for this event. She decided on a deep purple satin gown with a high slit up her right leg and paired it with a diamond heart necklace that was a gift from Brian last year. Her hair was half up with curls flowing down. 

“You look absolutely gorgeous.” Brian smiled wrapping her up in his arms leaning down for a kiss. For a second they forgot they weren’t the only people in the room but Joe quickly reminded them with a loud throat clearing. Beast rolled her eyes at her husband, still ever so protective of Skylar. 

“Very pretty baby cousin.” Bessy commented. 

“Thanks.” Skylar giggled trying to push Brian off. Bessy went for a basic black cocktail dress however she earned the respect and acceptance of IJ fans a long time ago, Skylar sometimes felt she was still working on them. 

As the guys chatted about where to have dinner, Bessy handed Skylar an envelope she brought with her that contained the reference her and Joe wrote. “I can’t thank you enough!” Skylar thanked her cousin. “This is all paperwork we have to go through tomorrow for the meeting.” Skylar said handing the bulky packet to Bessy. “I started some of it already.” 

As Bessy flipped through she stopped at one of the questions. “Have you ever worked in or been attached to the adult entertainment industry?” She read out loud. “You checked no.” Bessy said. 

Skylar shrugged, “Yeah I know.” 

“But you have.” Bessy corrected. 

“If I answered truthfully they will most likely disqualify us.” Skylar explained. 

“You don’t think they’re gonna check?” Bessy argued. “Skylar it’s better to be honest.” 

“Sapphire isn’t even opened anymore, Rocco’s in jail. It’s all fine Bessy.” Skylar insisted. “I’m gonna go fix up my make up and we can go?” She called out to the guys. 

Bessy watched Skylar walk away and made her way over to the guys. “She can’t lie on the application.” Bessy said to Brian. 

“The adult entertainment question?” He asked then rolled his eyes, “I already had that argument with her. There’s no changing her mind. She believes by the time they find out, Shiloh will be doing well with us and it hopefully won’t matter.” 

“So you’re just gonna let her lie?!” Bessy exclaimed, “What if she gets into trouble?” 

Brian put his hands up in defense, sometimes Bessy liked to forget that Skylar was a 24 year old woman and did what she wanted. Brian didn’t stop her from doing anything at this point in their relationship. Joe took the paperwork from Bessy and read it over, “You were honest about getting arrested.” He noted. 

“Thats different, that’s public record. And it was almost a decade ago, hopefully they understand that.” Brian answered. 

Skylar came back into the kitchen hoping to squash the bickering with her cousin. This was a choice she thought long and hard about and decided it was worth the risk. Brian then held up two ties, a grey one and an off white one. “Which one?” He asked. 

“Neither.” She smiled coming over and snaking her arms around his neck. “Looks sexy without one.” She whispered into his ear as she unbuttoned the top button to his black dress shirt. Dressed in all black made him look super bad and super sexy. 

“No tie then.” He smiled stealing her lips for one more kiss.   
________________________________  
“Guys Look over here!” Photographers were screaming out on the red carpet. TruTV was launching a few new shows this summer and this launch party was more for them but of course the four main stars of the network were invited. As Skylar and Bessy stood off to the side they chatted as they looked over at their men smiling for the cameras. 

“I’m sorry if I snapped earlier.” Skylar apologized. “You know I just hate talking about all that stuff.” 

“I know, I just don’t want to see you get into trouble or lose an opportunity with this little girl.” Bessy said. 

“I know you come from a good place.” Skylar smiled hugging her cousin. “On other news...” She said pulling her cousin closer in case anyone was listening. “Brian still hasn’t said anything more about proposing.” 

“I told you before, let him do it how he wants to.” Bessy insisted. She knew it was driving Skylar crazy, it would drive any woman crazy but Bessy knew Brian wanted to do it his way. 

“It’s just insane waiting for something you know is gonna happen. Like he has a ring in a safe, why can’t I just wear the damn thing?!” She pouted. 

“Because you’re not engaged yet...that’s why!” Bessy laughed. “Leave it alone. When he finally does propose properly, it will be your own romantic story. I wouldn’t change the way Joe proposed to me for anything.” 

“He hid it inside a dinner roll!” Skylar laughed. 

“So!” Bessy laughed along, “It was so cute...so Joe.” 

Skylar shook her head at her cousin but smiled, she knew that if her and Brian had half the marriage her cousin and Joe had they would be lucky. 

“Girls come on over!” Joe shouted over the loudness of the crowds, “Take a couple pictures with us.” 

Skylar and Bessy abandoned their drinks and walked over squeezing in with their men. Brian protectively wrapped his arm tightly around Skylar’s waist, grabbing her ass loving watching her squirm. They were in front of so many people and there wasn’t a damn thing she could do about it at the moment. “You look so beautiful tonight baby.” Brian whispered against her ear causing her to blush. 

The photographers snapped frantically as Skylar giggled into Brian. “How about a kiss Q?!” One of the photographers called out. 

The media was still getting used to seeing Q in a committed relationship and loved to get pictures of the pair when they could. Brian quickly gave Skylar a peck on the lips. “Oh come on, you guys can do better than that!” Another photographer shouted. 

With a sideways look Brian decided to give them the money shot and dipped his girl down giving her an all tongue wet kiss. Skylar loved these type of kisses but not in front of so many people. She giggled and slapped him playfully as he brought her back up to her feet. These were the fun times to be Q’s girlfriend, not Brian’s.  
________________________________  
The meeting with St. Elizabeth’s had went well. There were a few concerns that the program wanted to discuss so unfortunately Skylar and Brian didn’t get any answers that day. The fact that they were unmarried, neither had fostered, lived outside the state of New Jersey, and had busier work schedules than most were all red flags. However they seemed to be responsible kind people with successful careers. Neither came from bad families or backgrounds so these were all positives in their favor. Skylar was disappointed that they didn’t get to meet with Shiloh that day but tried to be as hopeful as possible. 

She was in her office going over research for an upcoming story on budget cuts Congress was considering when her cell phone rang. 

“This is Skylar Thompson.” She answered. 

“Ms. Thompson, it’s Krystal from St. Elizabeth’s. Is this a good time?” 

“Of course!” Skylar responded getting up quickly to shut her office door. 

“I just spoke with our directors and representative from Family Services and they’ve reached a decision on Shiloh’s placement.” Krystal began. Skylar’s heart was beating so fast as she listened. “I’m happy to say your request to foster Shiloh has been approved. Congratulations!” 

After getting more information and instructions from Krystal she hung up and immediately dialed Brian.

“Hello?” He answered on the third ring. 

“Baby! We go approved for Shiloh!” Skylar exclaimed. “We get to take her home!” 

“Really?!” Brian replied both thrilled, shocked, and incredibly nervous all at the same time.


	16. From A Different Perspective

Mommy said today I would be meeting someone new. I'm excited I love meeting new people. She dressed me in a fancy white dress and she was busy fixing her hair for a very long time. Mommy seemed nervous but smiled at me. I love my Mommy's smile, it's so pretty. 

We walked up to a big house and a really tall man opened it for us. He used a lot of bad words when he saw us but let us come in. The whole time he kept calling mommy bad names. I was not excited to meet this man anymore. "You shouldn't be here!" "You and this kid were both mistakes!" "You were a cheap fuck, nothing more!" 

His yelling is really hurting my ears, I hide behind Mommy. "I need money for her Trevor. If you're not gonna help me, I'll be forced to take you to court. Do you really want that embarrassment? Your wife and kids to find out you screwed a 17 year old girl for a year?!" 

Now the man is really really mad. He starts throwing things around the room. I start to cry, he's really scary. Now he grabs Mommy by the neck. Mommy is coughing a lot. I'm scared I don't know what do to. I run and hide behind the long curtains to get away from the yelling but I can still hear them. 

Then the loud voices stop and the man is gone. I am happy and hope I never see him again. I peek out from the curtains and see Mommy laying on the floor. That's a funny place to take a nap but Mommy must be tired from all the yelling. She is laying in red water. 

I sit next to Mommy and shake her a little but she doesn't wake up. Mommy usually gets mad when I wake her so I sit quietly. I hope the bad man doesn't come back. I'm hungry and my tummy is growling, I have to wake Mommy so I can eat. I keep shaking her but she still won't wake up. "Mommy? Mommy, hungry." I cry. "Mommy wake up!" There is more red water under Mommy now. I decide to just cuddle next to Mommy until she wakes up. 

After a long time more men come in the house but they aren't the bad man. These men look sad. They take a white blanket and put it over Mommy, they must know she liked blankets when she naps. "Honey, I'm a police officer. You wanna come with me?" He asked holding out his hand. 

I don't wanna leave Mommy, I start to cry until he picks me up and takes me away from Mommy. I never saw her again.   
________________________________  
"Shiloh...Shiloh. Wake up" I hear my name, it's Miss. Krystal. I like Miss. Krystal, She is always so nice to me and sneaks me candy when the other kids aren't looking. But when I wake up from my nap, my bed is wet. I went pee in the bed again, I hate when I do it, it's so embarrassing. The other kids make fun of me all the time. 

"It's okay Shiloh, lets get you a quick bath." She says when she sees me upset about wetting the bed. "After your bath I have a surprise for you." She smiles. As Miss. Krystal helps me take a bath she tells me that I am going with a new family today. I’m really nervous. Any family I stay with never wants to keep me. I hear words like damaged, crazy, or too much work. It’s always the same, they take me right back here and all the other kids laugh at me. They say no family will ever want me.

Miss. Krystal helps me pack the little clothes I have, my favorite blanket, and stuffed Koala Bear named Rizzo. It’s the only thing I have left that Mommy gave me, I take him everywhere. Miss Krystal has sewed his broken ear back on so many times because the other kids like to take him and toss him around making me cry. 

My tummy is doing flip flops as we walk out of the room. I hope this new family likes me, I hope I don’t mess it up and make them not like me. “Sit right here honey, I’ll be right back.” Miss. Krystal tells me pointing to a bench in the dayroom. 

As I wait, Samuel comes up to me. He’s one of the older kids and I don’t like him very much, he’s always really mean to me. He’s one of the kids that’s always stealing Rizzo. “Oh hey look it’s the baby. Hi baby.” Samuel says to me kicking my stuff over. 

“Leave me alone Samuel.” I say getting up to pick all my stuff up off the ground. 

“Heard you’re going to a new home today. That’s not gonna last long.” Samuel laughs at me. “I say you’re back before Friday this time!” 

“Shut up!” I yell back at him. Miss. Krystal says I shouldn’t use bad words like that but Samuel makes me so mad. He’s the reason all the other kids don’t like me here, he’s the biggest kid here and tells the others to be mean to me. 

“Awe look...is the baby gonna cry?!” He whines at me, “Poor baby!” He then reaches down and grabs Rizzo, “Carrying around this nasty old thing, it belongs in the trash!” He teased then walks over the trash can holding it up high so I can’t reach it. 

“Give that back!” I scream. I start crying even more thinking of Rizzo going in the trash. “Give me back my bear!” 

“Hey!” A loud voice says. I turn around and see a tall man with dark hair standing there. “What you picking on a little girl for?!” He yells. Samuel drops Rizzo and the man picks him up handing him back to me. “This belong to you?” He asked kneeling down next to me. 

I’m shy so I don’t talk but I nod my head taking Rizzo back. “Looks like a cool little guy, better hold onto him tight.” He smiled. Then the man turns back to Samuel, “You’re a lot older than her, you should think about being a lot nicer instead of being a little jerk.” 

Samuel walks away not saying anything else to me. The man smiles at me and tells me not to let him or anyone else push me around. He seems nice but I’m still nervous around him, I am around most men. He looks like someone I’ve seen before, I think he knows Skylar. 

Skylar is my friend and she’s really nice. She has really pretty pink shoes and played with me in the sandbox before.


	17. Taking the Chance

"Sorry." Brian apologized as he walked back into the program director's office. "Work call I couldn't miss."

Joan the program director got a look of concern on her face. "This is the concern that I brought up to Krystal and the other case workers when reviewing placement for Shiloh. With all due respect Mr. Quinn, I know who you are and I know how busy you must be. So I'm going to ask you myself, do you really think you can take this on?"

Brian was a bit taken aback and honestly down right insulted, "I wouldn't be here if I didn't care and didn't feel like Skylar and I couldn't handle this. She has completely changed her job so it would be possible for us to have Shiloh live with us. So with all due respect I know we can take this on." 

"She's a difficult child." Joan interrupted.

Brian rolled his eyes and started to bounce his leg on top of the other, a habit he had when he was getting aggravated. "Thats all we keep hearing is how difficult she is. So quite honestly if she's that damn difficult I would think you would be happy to pass her off to someone else." He snapped.

Skylar reached over under the desk and squeezed her man's hand reminding him to keep his cool. However inside she couldn't be prouder. Any doubt that she still had about Brian being ready for this was gone the second she saw how upset he was getting. 

"Alright if you truly feel you are up to the challenge, let's continue." Joan responded in a standoffish tone. She truly didn't believe this was going to work but the board was in agreement to try. Sliding over a packet of even more paperwork she began to explain the process, "So a total of $300 will be deposited into the bank account you have provided every month on the first. This is what it cost to care for each of the children so that is what you are expected to spend. Anything extra is considered your responsibility." 

Skylar and Brian exchanged looks, the fact that the state expected a child to survive on $75 a week was laughable.

"We will try this for a 90 day period and then you are expected to return here for an update hearing. At that point we will get a status and go from there. She will need to return to New Jersey for doctors appointments considering she has a state insurance that isn't accepted in New York. I assume you have also set up schooling for her already?" Joan asked. 

"Yes, she'll be starting on Wednesday." Skylar answered. 

"Good, we will need weekly reports from them as well. You can fax those over to me." Joan said. "I'll go grab Krystal and Shiloh." 

Once Joan left the room, Brian and Skylar Both let out long sighs. "Whatta bitch." Brian said. 

"I'm not a fan of her either but we need to play nice with her. She is the runner of the program." Skylar responded. 

"Shiloh is basically a pain in the ass to her. She needs more help than a crappy doctor in New Jersey is going to give a couple times a month." Brian said. 

"We got this right?" Skylar asked taking his hand. 

"We're gonna give it our best shot." He sighed trying to relieve some nerves. The last meeting they had with Krystal she explained in great detail what Shiloh could behave like. Nights were the most difficult, if she had a nightmare which happened often, she could wake up crying, hyperventilating, or angry. The severity of the nightmare varied and sometimes it could take hours to calm her down. They were told to expect bed wetting on the regular as well. She was fearful of new people, especially men, and had a hard time connecting with other children. Shiloh was very smart but due to missing school a lot she was very behind for her age level. Realistically she should be in the 1st grade but was still in kindergarten and struggled a lot. 

The couple waited in silence for what seemed like forever. Then finally they turned at the sound of the door opening. "Skylar!" Shiloh exclaimed happily running in smiling brightly. 

"Hi!" Skylar greeted bending down to hug the little girl tightly. 

Krystal looked equally as happy to see the pair. All Shiloh talked about lately was how fun Skylar was and how she was so nice to her. She prayed with everything this would work out. Krystal was a huge driving force in pushing for this. "Nice to see you both again." She smiled shaking their hands. "You ready to get going kiddo?" She asked kneeling down next to Shiloh. 

Finally the little girl began putting everything together, "I get to go home with Skylar?!" 

"And her boyfriend, Brian." Krystal added. She knew Shiloh's uneasiness around men and hoped this wasn't going to trigger her in anyway. 

"You saved Rizzo." Shiloh mumbled shyly. 

At first Brian was confused then remembered...the stuffed bear that jerk kid took from her in the hallway. "Ohh..so that's his name?" He smiled getting down on one knee next to the little girl. "I hope he comes along with you too." He winked causing Shiloh to let out a little smile. 

As Skylar looked on her heart was growing even more. The way he was interacting with Shiloh was nothing short of amazing, he was ready.   
_______________________________  
It was a tearful goodbye. As happy as Krystal was she was going to miss Shiloh. The little girl certainly stole her heart but she was praying perhaps she would find a forever home with Skylar and Brian. 

As Skylar said goodbye and thanked Krystal for everything and promised to check in with her, Brian walked around the other side of the car to load in the one tiny bag Shiloh had. He understood there was a budget to keep in mind but it sickened him thinking of how little this kid actually had. When he turned around he noticed the shy little girl looking on from the curb. "Ready to go?" He asked loudly over the sound of cars in the distance. 

Shiloh took a couple nervous steps backwards. Brian noticed he was making her uneasy and stopped in his tracks. He would have to be very careful at approaching her. She seemed to do better when he was down on her level so he sunk to his knee again and spoke much softer this time, "Heard pink is your favorite color, so we got a pink booster seat in the car for ya. Wanna take a look?" 

Brian observed as Shiloh cling to her stuffed bear looking towards the car nervously. "I promise our house is gonna be a lot more fun than this place. Whatta say we give it a chance?" He asked in his softest most gentle voice. 

"Expect her to be super nervous, especially around your boyfriend." Krystal told Skylar as they stood back watching the exchange between the young girl and Brian. "Chances are she won't want to be around him for..." Krystal suddenly paused as she watched Shiloh put her arms up signaling for Brian to pick her up and place her in the car. "Unbelievable." Krystal said under her breath in awe of what she was seeing. "She has never let a man even get close to touching her." 

Skylar smiled, "One thing I've learned over the years, you can never underestimate what Brian  is capable of. He will shock you every time."   
________________________________  
The car ride was quiet heading back to New York. Skylar kept looking back making sure she was alright. Shiloh would smile shyly and then continue looking out the window at the passing cars and trees as they drove on. 

In her head, Skylar was going over her own checklist of things at home. Once they got the word that Shiloh would be staying with them, they converted the guest room into a bedroom quickly scrabbling to get a bed and dresser for the girl. They didn't go crazy decorating because they weren't sure what she would like so Skylar decided they tomorrow they could go pick up some things. 

Bessy and Joe gladly gave them some toys that Milana never played with anymore so Shiloh had things to play with when she first arrived. Bessy also included an old baby monitor so they could hear Shiloh at night if she was having a nightmare.

"Wow!" Shiloh said in astonishment when the skyline of New York City came into view. The giant buildings,the bridges, the lights it was all new sights to her. She had never seen anything so big in her life. 

"Never been to New York Shiloh?" Brian asked as he turned off one of the exits looking over his shoulder to make sure no cars were coming. 

Shiloh silently shook her head in response. Skylar turned around and smiled, "Well we will make sure to get out and do some fun things. Let you see everything." 

After a little bit longer Shiloh observed as they turned onto a quiet street and after passing several houses pulled into a driveway. "Home sweet home!" Skylar called out taking off her seatbelt and hopping out of the car quickly. 

As they walked in, she grabbed tightly to Skylar's hand, more nervous than ever. The house was bigger than any of the others she ever stayed in. Brian placed her bag down on the stairs and guided the girls into the living room. Shiloh jumped out of fright when she saw a black cat immediately jump on the coffee table. 

"It's okay." Skylar immediately said in a calming voice when she felt the little girl stiffen up. "His name is Benjamin, he's not mean." 

Brian walked over picking up his oldest cat and took a seat on the couch with him on his lap, "He's just an old cuddle monster!" Brian smiled as he kept petting the cat. "No need to be afraid of this guy, Huh Benjamin?!" He said kissing the top of his furry head.

Brian then heard a loud meow on the other side of the room and saw Sapphire scratching at the curtains. "That one on the other hand, is a pain." He said placing Benjamin down on the couch and getting up. Brian clapped his hands loudly, "Sapphire!" He yelled, "Knock it off!" 

Shiloh jumped a mile high and hid immediately behind Skylar at the sound of a man's voice yelling. The little girl was shaking like a leaf trying to hold back tears. The night her mother died while she was hiding she tried to kept quiet and not cry so the bad man wouldn't find it, it was a habit she still had. 

"It's okay, He was just yelling at the kitty." Skylar said leaning down trying to ease her fright. Skylar looked up at Brian, they were going to have a real problem getting this girl to fully trust and feel comfortable here.  
________________________________  
For dinner they had decided to play it safe and order pizza. All kids liked pizza. As the three sat at the table Skylar and Brian were starting to see the severity of what Shiloh's life had been like up to this point. Every time she finished a slice, she would look towards them for permission to have another even though they insisted she have as much as she would like. They were in shock that this little body devoured 5 huge slices of New York pizza. Brian was a grown man and he couldn't even do that. 

Afterwards Skylar took her upstairs and helped her with a bath. As she took her clothes off to hop in the tub, Skylar had to hold back tears at how skinny the child was. Her hair was knotted in a lot of places but instead of doing it all at once, she decided to take this step by step. She got a majority of the knots out on the left side and decided tomorrow to work on the other side. As Skylar rinsed out her hair, Shiloh looked around at the huge bathroom she was in, she had never seen a bathroom like this. 

When they emerged from the bath, Brian was in Shiloh's room putting another blanket at the foot of the bed. Shiloh looked around, "Who else sleeps here?" She asked.

"No one. This is your room." Brian answered. 

"Just me?" She asked.

"Is that okay?" Skylar asked confused. 

"I never had my own room before." She smiled sitting on the comfy full sized bed. "This bed is so big." 

She jumped a little when Benjamin hopped up next to her. "He's just saying hi." Skylar smiled petting the old cat. 

Shiloh nervously reached her hand out and Brian smiled as he watched Benjamin rub up against her hand purring. "I think he likes you." Brian whispered. 

"I like him." The little girl giggled.

"I thought tomorrow we could have a girls day and get some stuff to decorate the room." Skylar said. Brian was going into the office for a couple meetings so she had Shiloh all to herself. 

After reading a couple books, the adults started to slip out seeing Shiloh's eyes get heavy. "Our room is right down the hall at the end. You come get us if you need to, okay?" Skylar said. 

"Ok." The tiny girl answered through a yawn not bothering to fight sleep anymore. 

Skylar needed a shower herself so while Brian went downstairs to return a couple work calls, Skylar decided on a bath. When she was all set, she was happy to see that Brian had finished his calls and was waiting for her in bed flipping through Tv channels. They were both exhausted. Skylar checked to make sure the baby monitor was turned on so they could hear her and then snuggled into her man's side. "Think she will have a nightmare tonight?" She whispered.

"We'll see." Brian answered kissing the top of Skylar's head and closing his own eyes.


	18. Bad Man

"You were nothing but a mistake!!" The bad man screamed as he kept kicking me and Mommy. I run and hide under the table but he finds me and pulls me out by my hair. "Stop it! Stop! Ouch!!" I cry over and over again. Mommy won't get up and help me. She just lays there in the red water. The bad man shakes me and slaps me across the face. "Mommy help! Mommy!"   
________________________________  
Skylar is startled awake by screaming coming from the baby monitor. She jumps up reaching over to shake Brian awake next to her. "Brian. Brian!" She calls out a little louder shaking his arm harder now. 

"Wha... what?!" He answers startled. Blinking his eyes a couple times trying to come out of a sleepy fog, he heard yelling and screaming coming from the monitor. "I'm up." He sighed throwing the covers off and swinging his legs to the floor. 

The couple quickly made their way down the hall becoming concerned as the screaming got louder. Skylar opened the door and looked on as they saw Shiloh flaring her arms and kicking frantically. "Go away!" She kept screaming. 

Skylar stepped closer to the bed but was immediately pulled back by Brian. He looked on concerned. The little girl appeared to be awake; she was sitting up and her eyes were fully opened but something wasn't exactly right. He had seen this before when he got called for a medical emergency with the fire department. "She's still asleep." Brian said to Skylar softly. 

"What are you talking about?" Skylar asked. "She's in hysterics, she's not asleep." 

"I'm telling you, she may look awake but her mind is still asleep. You can't wake someone like that. She needs to come out of it on her own." Brian explained. 

"We can't just stand here and let her continue this night terror." Skylar argued then stepped closer to the bed. 

Shiloh was thrashing around kicking her feet. Fearful that the little girl would kick Skylar in the face or chest, Brian quickly came to the bedside pulling his girlfriend directly behind him jumping into protective mode. He remembered his training and knew that if you had to wake a person, you had to do it carefully and slowly; he was starting to think previous foster families and the people at St. Elizabeth's hadn't done this in the past. 

As he knelt down at the bed he quickly used his arm to block a kick to the face. He had never seen anyone, let alone a child, act like this. Skylar was right she looked 100 percent awake but Brian just knew by looking into her tear filled eyes, she was most certainly not conscious. 

When Brian laid his hand on the bed, he felt a huge wet spot on the sheet. He sighed heavily realizing he just set his hand in a puddle of urine. Ignoring that for the moment he softly whispered her name a few times but it was no use, there was no way she could hear him over the screaming. Gently he shook her a couple times softly but hard enough to hopefully get her attention. "Shiloh....Shiloh...wake up baby." Brian said softly again blocking a fist that would have given him a pretty good black eye. 

Skylar looked on watching in complete awe as Brian took over. It amazed her sometimes, he just always knew what to do. Even in a situation with a child, something he had close to no experience with, he just always knew what to do. 

Suddenly Shiloh stopped screaming and frantically looked around the room. "She's awake." Brian mouthed over his shoulder to Skylar. 

"Is he gone?" The frightened little girl whispered. 

"Is who gone honey?" Brian asked. 

"The bad man." She responded gripping Rizzo so tightly her knuckles were turning white. 

"There's nobody here Shiloh." Skylar answered coming around to kneel next to Brian. 

"Yes he was!" Shiloh yelled back. 

"Shiloh look at me..." Brian said, "It's only us in this house. You had a bad dream. It's not real, I promise." 

"They told you about this." She whispered looking down in shame, "Are you gonna send me back now?" 

Brian and Skylar exchanged heartbroken looks. This little girl had been taught to be ashamed of her nightmares. "Absolutely not!" Skylar told her. "But you did have a little accident so why don't we get you in the tub and clean up, okay?" She smiled. 

"I'm sorry." Shiloh apologized sadly as she hopped out of bed following Skylar. 

"No worries." Brian smiled hoping to reassure the little girl. 

As the girls were in the bathroom cleaning up, Brian did his best to clean up the bedding quickly. He was beyond grateful Skylar thought to get a mattress protector on this bed as he changed the sheets. Hearing laughter coming from down the hall, he smiled to himself. Skylar was able to get the little girl's mind off of the nightmare. 

Brian placed Rizzo back on the bed when Skylar and Shiloh returned, nice and clean. She looked uncertain at the bed and nervously looked around the room. "I can promise there is no one here but would you feel better sleeping in our room tonight?" Brian asked. 

Shiloh nodded happily and snatched her stuffed koala from the bed. "Just for tonight okay?" Brian insisted. 

"You sure this is a good idea?" Skylar whispered as they followed the little girl out. 

"What would you suggest? Have her stay in here scared to death?" He answered. "We'll never get any sleep that way."   
________________________________  
Brian awoke the next morning incredibly groggy. He had to be at the office this morning and was dreading the idea of having to sit through a meeting with executives. Glancing over he couldn't help but smile. There was the woman he so desperately loved curled next to a tiny blonde child. Shiloh snuggled into her side gripping her stuffed animal tightly. The bed was thankfully dry and Shiloh had slept peacefully the rest of the night. Quietly he grabbed what he needed and decided to shower downstairs so he didn't wake them.   
________________________________  
"You look exhausted buddy." Joe commented as he walked in the conference room with Murr. Sal, always the late one, was still on his way. 

Brian didn't look up from his phone, engaged in what he was doing.

"How'd the first night go?" Murray asked. 

Brian finally looked up to answer and it was then his friends noticed the dark bags under his eyes. "Damn, not good I take it?" Joe added. 

Brian went on to explain Shiloh's terrifying night terror and how they managed to calm her down. "If I'm gonna give you any advice man, try to nip this sharing a bed thing in the butt. We couldn't get Milana out of our bed for almost two years." Joe said. 

"Shiloh isn't a normal child though, what was I supposed to do? Let her be terrified in a room all by herself?" Brian argued. 

"I get it. I'm just saying from experience." Joe added. 

Brian rolled his eyes, he knew Joe was trying to help but there was no way he could ever comprehend something like this. He glanced down at his phone and scribbled down a number. "Julia!!" He called out when he saw his assistant walk by. "Do me a favor, call this doctor for me and find out the procedure in getting an appointment. Insist that it's urgent. Try and get something scheduled after this meeting for me to talk to her over the phone please. If they ask about insurance just tell them I'll pay cash." 

"Sure thing." Julia smiled taking the number. "You want an iced tea, you look pretty tired." 

"That would be great, large one please." Brian answered.   
________________________________  
Julia: Got you a 11 o'clock phone call scheduled with Dr. Fields. I hope this is the right one though, it's a child psychologist. 

Brian looked down at his phone in the middle of the meeting. Simmy glanced over annoyed at the buzzing of Q's phone on the table. 

Brian: It's the right one. Thanks Julia. Has Skylar called at all? 

Julia: She did about 20 minutes ago. Told her you were in a meeting, she said not to bother you, everything was fine. 

Brian let out a sigh of relief that the morning went smoothly with Shiloh. He hoped this doctor would have some answers for him later.   
_______________________________  
"Hello!" Brian called out walking into the house much later in the evening. The house smelled delicious and as he got closer to the kitchen he could hear laughter. Brian Quinn took a second to take it all in, this beat coming home to an empty house any day. 

Standing at the counter with Shiloh kneeling on a chair next to her, the two were laughing at the frosting currently on the little girl's nose. "We're making cupcakes!" Shiloh exclaimed when she saw Brian enter the room. 

"I see that!" He smiled using a napkin to dap the little girl's nose. "But where's Shiloh?" He asked "Because Shiloh has long hair and you seem to have short hair." He smirked. 

Shiloh started giggling hysterically, "It's me!" She yelled, "I got a haircut!" 

"Oh?" Brian said cocking his head sideways pretending to be confused. He got closer then smiled, "Now I recognize you!" 

"There was no getting all those knots out." Skylar whispered so the giggling girl couldn't hear. Brian nodded in agreement; it was probably for the best to just chop it off instead of pulling at it making her cry. "Shiloh tell Brian what else we did today." 

"We went shopping!" She exclaimed. 

"Really?!" Brian said equally as excited. 

"I got stuff for my room." She smiled. "And this new dress!" She said getting off the chair so she could spin around. 

"Very pretty!" Brian complimented. 

"And after dinner, will you have the cupcakes I made?" She smiled asking sweetly. 

"I can't wait." He answered. "But Shiloh I wanna ask you something first." He said taking a seat and lifting the little girl onto his lap. 

"Did I do something wrong?" She asked nervously. 

"No, not at all." He answered a little concerned. All last night, Shiloh would keep asking if she was doing something wrong. "So there is this doctor that helps kids, ones that have really bad dreams like you, I was going to have her come and talk to you. Would that be okay?" 

"Talk about what?" Shiloh asked. 

"Whatever you wanna talk about. She knows a lot of stuff and maybe she can help make those bad dreams not happen so much." Brian explained. 

"Is she nice?" Shiloh asked. 

"I talked to her today, she seems very nice." Brian answered. 

"And She will make the bad man not come anymore?" She asked. 

"She's gonna definitely try." He responded. "Whatta think?" 

"Ok." Shiloh answered hugging Brian's neck tightly. She wasn't sure why but she trusted this man more than she ever trusted anyone in her whole life. She smiled when she felt him hug her back. 

As Shiloh went upstairs to change out of her new dress before dinner, Brian explained to his girlfriend that from his research Dr. Fields was the best child psychologists in the east coast but she didn't come cheap. A home session with her was running $500 and she suggested a case like Shiloh's be handled with two sessions per week. With Shiloh having New Jersey state insurance, this would be coming directly out of their pockets. Together they decided it was worth the cost praying they would see a difference after a few sessions. 

"Picked up a few more mattress protectors as well. Couple for her bed and couple for ours." Skylar said pointing to the Macy's bags. 

"Definitely a good idea." Brian said lifting the lid to the pot on the stove and smelling the garlic of the sauce Skylar had going. 

"I talked to Bessy and she said the worst thing we can do is have her sleeping in our bed. Said it's an impossible habit to break." Skylar added. 

Brian rolled his eyes, "I got the same lecture from Joe today." 

"I know they are trying to help..." she started to say but was interrupted by her boyfriend. 

"But they are not in Shiloh's life and have no idea what that child needs. Hell, we're still trying to figure it out. They need to keep comments like that to themselves right now." 

Skylar was a bit taken aback at the moment. In just about 24 hours, she was witnessing her man take on this parental role. He was a natural with Shiloh, made her laugh, feel safe, and knew what to do when she was in distress. It was becoming more and more clear Brian was born to be a dad. Skylar leaned in for a kiss smiling at him. 

"What?" He asked with a raised eyebrow. 

"You just seem to get better and better." She commented giving him a quick smack on the ass for good measures. 

From the doorway, they didn't notice they had a little admirer looking on. As Shiloh watched these two grown-ups laugh playfully and kiss, she couldn't help but get her hopes up that maybe she did have a family this time.


	19. Baltimore Trip

"Shhh!!" Brian hushed climbing into the shower behind his girl. 

"She still asleep?" Skylar asked. 

"Out cold." He responded pushing her against the shower wall. 

They were on almost a month of Shiloh being with them and not to pat themselves on the back, but they were pretty proud of themselves. Dr. Fields had been working with Shiloh and surprisingly the night terrors were not as often. She was even making friends at school but her best friend hands down was Milana. Skylar had brought Shiloh over the past three weekends and the little girls bonded right away. However it was nothing compared to the bond she formed with Brian. Those two were literally two peas in a pod. Shiloh worshipped him and Brian devoted any and all free time to this little girl. 

The only complaint the couple had right now was the major drop in their sex life. With Shiloh sleeping in bed with them almost every night it gave them no alone time at all. Their saving grace were the sporadic quickies they snuck in. 

Skylar giggled softly as Brian assaulted her neck with kisses. "No time for romance Quinn, get to the good stuff!" She ordered. 

Brian pulled back a big shit eating grin on his face, "Yes Ma'am!" 

Spinning her around he pushed her front into the wet tile wall and entered her hard and rough. "Better?" He growled. 

"Fuck yes." She moaned. 

Brian pulled her hips back towards him and pounded as hard as he could. "So fucking good baby." He said against her ear. "You like that?" He asked reaching down to spank her a couple times, a sure way to get her cumming fast. 

"Yes Brian, Yes!" She cried out leaning against the wall as she felt his hard cock punish her. 

"God you feel so good." Brian moaned bending his head back into the falling water. Regretfully it didn't take long for him to finish inside of her. It had just been too long for him to actually hold it back. However thanks to his ability to please her at the drop of a hat, Skylar was cumming just as hard as he had. 

Skylar flipped around again and rubbed her nose against her man's, "Say it." She smiled. 

"I'm still horny." He pouted. 

Skylar giggled, that wasn't the answer she usually got, "Brian!" She laughed pinching his side. 

"Love you." He smiled giving her the right answer this time. 

"Love you babe." She responded.   
________________________________  
This was going to be a big day for Shiloh. Today was the first night since coming to live with Brian and Skylar, she would be spending away from them. Skylar had managed to keep her commitment and not be away from home overnight for work. However with another producer out for medical reasons she was expected to step up and fill in if need be. They promised to keep her as local as possible but today she was off to Baltimore. It had been a year since the riots there and Skylar would be heading with another reporter to cover how the city was rebuilding itself. 

Funny enough The Tenderloins had a show in Baltimore as well. Normally traveling to the same city would have made the couple over the moon happy but now with Shiloh it added a whole new stress neither had ever dealt with...finding a babysitter. After talking to his mom, Carol was more than happy to help and along with Brian's dad agreed to spend the night with Shiloh. 

Shiloh had the opportunity to meet the Quinns last week and took to them just as quickly as she had taken to everyone else in Skylar and Brian's lives. The Quinns also adored her. They couldn't believe the little girl's sad beginning and were never prouder of their son for stepping up and giving this child an opportunity at something better. Now they just hoped it all worked out how it was supposed to and Brian would propose already. Popping the question to Skylar was something Carol Quinn was forever on her son about. 

"Skylar!" Sal greeted when he saw her enter the IJ office. "With luggage...? Where you going?" Sal asked before leaning down to scoop up Shiloh, yet another heart the little girl had stolen lately. 

"Brian didn't tell you? I have a story in Baltimore. I'm catching the earlier train though. I should make your show tonight still." She said. 

"Wait...you're gonna be in Baltimore tonight?" He immediately asked alarmed. 

"Yes?" She answered confused on why Sal didn't seem happy about it. "What's the matter, cutting into boy time or something?" 

"No!" He answered immediately, "Just surprised!" He said with a fake smile. 

"There's my girls!" Brian smiled coming out of his office. He took Shiloh immediately from Sal's arms lifting her high up causing the girl to squeal in laughter. "Hi babe." He smiled leaning down for a kiss from Skylar. 

As the couple chatted and Shiloh hopped down to walk around with Cha who was eager to play with her, Sal pulled Joe aside. "Skylar's gonna be in Baltimore tonight." He whispered. 

Joe erupted in a fit of laughter, "This is gonna be even better than I thought." 

"Dude, he's gonna be so pissed. First night alone with his girlfriend in over a month and we're gonna do this to him? Maybe we should reschedule it." Sal suggested. He knew how sexually frustrated his friend had been lately. This may be crossing a line...even for them.

"No way, it will make it even funnier now. Plus crew is already set to come with us. We go through as planned." Joe said putting his foot down. 

"So my car is downstairs in the garage with Shiloh's booster seat. I wrote down all instructions and left them on the counter. You think your parents will be okay?" Skylar asked her nervousness taking over. 

"I gave them an overview. My dad is probably gonna fall asleep on the couch and my mom will be upstairs with Shiloh. They will be fine babe." Brian insisted.

"But what if she has a nightmare?" Skylar added. 

"She hasn't had one in over a week. Everything is gonna be okay. Please stop worrying." Brian insisted. He placed his hand against her cheek and smiled the type that always got Skylar's heart going. "The only thing I want you thinking of tonight is having an entire hotel room to ourselves." He growled in a soft whisper sending a shiver up her spine. 

"Ugh I gotta be on a train for two hours, please don't get me going yet." She whined. 

"Hurry and get this story done!" He said slapping her ass making Skylar jump and give him a look he was hoping to see all night long.   
_______________________________  
"I have never hated you guys more than I do right now!" Brian said getting off the train in Baltimore with Pierre the mime handcuffed to him. 

A small camera crew was following them around and Brian couldn't be anymore annoyed. Joe and Murr were laughing hysterically as they watched this mime torment their best friend. Sal looked on flinching, he knew Q wasn't playing up his annoyance for the camera; his friend was truly pissed off. 

As the jokers plus Pierre loaded into a van to take them to get something to eat, Brian grumbled in total annoyance as Pierre tried to sit on his lap. "Get the fuck off!" He ordered shifting his body weight to knock Pierre off. "Ya know Skylar's gonna be in Baltimore tonight and I saw this night going a lot differently in my head." He shouted. "You guys realize it's been almost a month since I've gotta a blowjob?!" 

"Alright!" Joe shouted, "More than I need to know Q!"

Usually Brian got a kick out of grossing Joe out with Skylar sex stories but he was just too angry to even enjoy this one.   
________________________________  
With the room being under Brian's name Skylar hadn't check in yet. She went straight from the train station to cover the story and was now waiting at the hotel bar for the Jokers to show up. She could have sworn she saw a couple IJ crew member but was too consumed with her cosmo and thoughts of tonight to give it another thought. After checking in with Carol and getting good news that Shiloh was currently having a blast in the yard with Jim, she relaxed. 

She kept an eye on the door and jumped up when she saw Murray and Sal walk in; Brian wouldn't be far behind. Quickly paying her bar tab she hopped up and made her way into the lobby. "What in the world?" She said out loud when she saw her man strapped to a mime. 

"Don't get me started!" Brian grumbled with a major pout on his face pulling his new friend along with him. "Guys decided tonight was a great night for a punishment. I'm handcuffed to this guy until 10:04 tomorrow morning." 

"Why 10:04?" She questioned looking at Joe. 

"That will be exactly 24 hours." Joe laughed. 

Skylar burst out in laughter. She knew how much Brian got annoyed by mimes. "This is a good one boys!" 

"Not helping Skylar!" Brian called out over his shoulder as he signed his credit card slip at the front desk which was no easy task since Pierre was hooked onto his right hand. 

With a camera crew and a mime, it didn't take long for hotel guests to notice the Jokers and quickly they were bombarded with people asking for pictures and autographs. Everyone got such a kick out of Pierre and were all laughing at Brian's expense. 

Once the crowd finally died down, Brian noticed Skylar at the front desk. "I already checked in." He called out dragging Pierre behind him. 

"I got my own room." Skylar told him. 

"For what?!" Brian asked. 

Skylar looked at him in total disbelief, "How did you think this was gonna work?!" She laughed pointing between the two of them and Pierre. "We all gonna share a bed?!" Brian stopped, he hadn't thought of that. 

"I'm gonna go get changed in my new room and meet you back down here for the show." Skylar said kissing his cheek as she walked by.   
"See you in a little bit Pierre!" She smiled waving. 

Pierre took the opportunity to pretend to swoon over Skylar and blow her kisses repeatedly. He had strict instructions from the other Jokers to annoy Brian as best he could. 

"Don't make me kill you." Brian barked at Pierre seeing him try and flirt with Skylar. "Come on!" He said pulling his arm to make Pierre follow. 

"Fucking hate you guys!" He said to his three best friends. "I'm gonna get you all back so hard for this one!" 

"At least something will be hard!" Sal laughed.


	20. We’ll Take the Next Train

"Great working with ya man!" Pierre smiled shaking Brian's hand once they were no long handcuffed together. 

Brian pushed him away as his three friends and members of the crew broke out into laughter. It had been such a long night of almost no sleep. That mime kept him up all night. Glancing over behind one of the cameramen he spotted Skylar looking well rested and laughing along with everyone else. With everyone distracted he sent a quick text to his mom saying something came up and they would be taking a later train back to New York if that was alright. She happily said it was okay, insisted Shiloh was fine and they were about to finish breakfast and then maybe take her bowling. 

With that taken care of he smiled over at his girl. Last night may have not gone how they planned but he would be making up for that now. 

"Train isn't for another hour, you all wanna grab brunch or something?" Murr asked pulling out his phone to check places in the area. 

Skylar at this point had come over sneaking under Brian's arm snuggling in close stealing a quick kiss. "You guys go ahead." Brian answered, "We're catching the later train back." 

"But we have to get home..." Skylar immediately started to say. 

"I'm well aware." He smiled at her, "Already talked to my mom and they are fine for the afternoon. We'll be home before dinner." 

Just the devilish look in his eyes gave Skylar the hint she needed on what her man had on his brain. She returned his smile and looked towards the guys, "See you all later." She responded as Brian hoisted her in the air and over his shoulder. 

"Animals!" Joe shouted after them as they made their way back inside the hotel. 

Brian didn't set Skylar back down on the ground until they got inside the elevator. He then quickly pushed her against the wall and kissed her hard. "God do I need you right now." He growled as he found the spot just below her ear that always drove her wild. 

The were interrupted by the ding of the doors opening and Brian was quickly dragging her out and down the hall. He already made sure to call down the front desk and book this room for another night, even though they wouldn't be staying that long. There was still plenty of hours before they had to be at the train station and he had full intention of using every single minute of it. 

Skylar took a seat on the bed and looked on as her man quickly kicked off his boots and started unbuttoning his flannel shirt. "Gotta say I'm pretty jealous of Pierre, he got to share a bed with you all night." She pouted. 

"You gonna make jokes all day or you gonna work on getting those pants off?" Brian said in his non nonsense voice. Skylar knew she wasn't in the room with romantic sweet Brian. Q was standing before her and he only liked sex one way...rough. 

Skylar followed orders and quickly undid her jeans and slowly slid them down her body. "This better?" She asked innocently. 

"Much." He answered licking his lips as he stared at her red g-string. One thing about Skylar is her love for lingerie. Didn't matter if she was dressed in sweats and a T-shirt, Brian always knew she dressed sexy underneath. 

"Kiss me." She ordered biting her lower lip. 

"Where?" He replied narrowing his eyes that were growing darker by the second. 

Skylar ran her hand down her body and settled right above her panties, "Right here." She whispered. 

Quickly joining her on the bed, Brian wasted no time in getting rid of the last bit of clothing covering his girl's body and got to work. He dove in fast and hard flicking her clit aggressively. "Fuck!" He growled against her, "You taste so fucking good." He moaned as he went back to his task. 

Skylar bucked her hips up to join his mouth and arched her back as pleasure began taking over. "Why are you so good at that?" She whined. No matter how many times this man pleasured her, she never understood how he could unravel her so quickly with his mouth. 

"Talent I guess." He chuckled looking up for a moment to smile up at his girl. 

"Don't get cocky Quinn." She laughed but who was she kidding, it was talent. That or just a gift from the gods. 

Brian stopped instantly looking up and cocking his eyebrow. He loved when Skylar challenged him like this. "Alright..." he said smiling and stopping what he was doing, "Let's play a little game, shall we?" 

"What are you talking about?" she asked sitting up on her elbows getting incredibly annoyed at the pleasure stopping. 

"You know I can get you off first." he smiled. 

"This isn't a contest Brian." She responded rolling her eyes at the fact he was turning their intimate time into a competition. 

"Flip around." He whispered giving her the softest kiss and laying down himself. 

Skylar's need to win every argument started poking out and she followed orders getting onto him but facing his massively hard dick. She immediately sunk her mouth over him and sucked hard. She heard him breath sharply through his teeth and smiled to herself, this was going to be a piece of cake. Skylar worked hard and fast licking and sucking to the best of her ability. She took him as far back in her throat as she physically could. Brian laid back with his hands behind his head, enjoying everything he was currently feeling. There was no woman walking the planet that did this as well as Skylar, of that he was absolutely certain. 

As much as she enjoyed pleasing her man, it became clear that Brian was not returning the favor as promised. She stopped for a moment and turned back to look at him, "Ya know if you wanted a blowjob, all you gotta do is ask, no need to try and trick me into one." 

Brian let out a laugh and smiled, "I'm just giving you a head start, don't you worry about my part in all this. Now, I don't remember telling you to stop!" he growled. 

A shiver went through Skylar's entire body; there was nothing better than a bossy Q in bed. For another minute Brian laid back enjoying his first blowjob in what felt like forever. He then decided he had a job to do and with Skylar so accessible on top of him he opened his mouth and let his tongue take over. Skylar immediately started moaning on top of him and he smiled when he felt her grab hold of his thighs to try and suppress the scream she wanted to let out. It was then that he pulled out every single trick he knew. Brian Quinn licked, sucked, and bit at his girl's center. He licked at her and used the tip of his nose to pleasure her clit, which gave him the added bonus of capturing her sweet scent. That's when her walls began to tighten and Brian knew it was only a matter of moments until he tasted the greatest taste he could ever experienced. Reaching up he flicked at her clit ever so lightly and was then greeted with an intense flood of her juices. "Oh my God! Oh my God! Brian! Brian! Yes baby! Oh Q...fucking yes!" she kept screaming as she came more violently than she could ever remember. Brian smiled when he heard her shout out Q. She never called him that anymore unless she was completely worked up. 

Rolling over onto her back she felt her chest as her heart beat quickly. Brian sat up smiling, his mouth drenched. "Yeah baby, when it comes to making you cum....I am that damn good." 

Skylar took a second to regain her strength, smiling at the fact that she dated the single most amazing orally pleasing human on the planet, and then quickly pushed him down so she could get on top of him. "You're such an asshole sometimes!" She laughed as she dropped down on top of him, feeling him fill her in what felt like forever.


	21. News To Me

Skylar sat at her desk going over details on the next story she was assigned to. There was a recent scandal on Wall Street that cost investors hundreds of thousands. Whoever was behind this, people were calling the next Bernie Madoff. Placing her files down for a minute to give her eyes a break, Skylar's attention drifted to a new photo on her desk. Smiling brightly in the photo was Shiloh and Brian at the beach. Before coming to live with them, Shiloh had never seen the beach and now it was the little girl's favorite place. Skylar had taken this snapshot as they searched for seashells together and it was her favorite picture of her two favorite people. 

This past weekend was their 60 day check in with St.Elizabeth's and honestly, they had hit it out of the park. With good reports from both Dr. Fields and Shiloh's school, the administrators at the orphanage were beyond impressed. Krystal has even pulled them aside after the meeting and told them 'off record' they were on fast track to official adopt her. Skylar didn't know how but her and Brian were actually doing it. However Skylar did know how they were doing it and a huge part of it was Brian. The way he took care of this little girl was still mind blowing. Everyone was making comments on the complete change in him over the past two months. 

Week Before:  
Skylar had just picked up Shiloh from school and the little girl was begging to go see Brian. He had been away for the past two nights on the road so she missed him terribly. They both did. Skylar knew they were filming in the park today for a challenge so to the little girl's delight they headed over there.

Luckily with having worked on the show, Skylar knew all the tricks and hiding spots the IJ used when filming in the park so it wasn't hard to find them. 

"Excuse miss, no public allowed on set!" She heard James McCarthy, a comedy producer, call out to her smiling brightly. 

"Oh shut up!" She laughed hugging him tightly. 

"Days still just ain't the same without you here." He said. 

"I'll bet, no one to pick up your slack anymore!" She teased. 

"And there's that smart mouth....suddenly I don't miss you quite as much." James responded nudging her playfully. He then turned his attention down to the little girl holding Skylar's hand tightly. "And you must be Shiloh!" He smiled bending down to his knee.

Shiloh gripped Skylar's hand tighter looking up nervously at the stranger. She still got nervous around new people, especially men, but it was getting better each day. Shiloh trusted Skylar and Brian so much, she knew they would never bring anyone around her that was bad. "Hi." She greeted softly in a timid voice. 

James, as well as many other members of the crew, knew a bit about Shiloh's history so he figured he wouldn't push to much and just settled for the high five she was willing to give him. "Looking for Q?" He asked standing back up. 

"They shooting?" Skylar asked. 

"We took a break. They were starting to get a noticed. Waiting for the lunch crowd to die down." Janes answered. "I think I saw him grabbing something to eat." 

Skylar gave him another hug promising to get together soon with him and his wife and was off to find Brian. 

"There he is!" Shiloh shouted the second she saw Brian leaning against a fence sipping an iced tea fiddling with his phone. He had on his Richmond Ave fire station shirt and his aviator sunglasses, a personal favorite Skylar loved seeing him wear. 

"I was just calling you!" He called out when he looked up seeing his two girls walking across the park to him. As they got closer Shiloh let go of Skylar's hand and ran over to him. Instantly he picked her up and kissed her cheek. "Whats up pretty girl?" He said as the little girl wrapped her arms tightly around his neck. 

"Look at my bracelet I made at school today!" She exclaimed showing off her beaded creation on her wrist. 

"It's beautiful baby." He smiled pretending to be overly excited about it. However the truth was he loved seeing her get excited over little things like this. "There's my other girl!" He smiled as Skylar reached them. With Shiloh still in his arms he wrapped his other one around Skylar leaning down for a kiss. 

Shiloh was starting to wiggle wanting to get down to pick some nearby wildflowers which gave Brian the perfect opportunity to whisper some rather dirty things in his girl's ear. "Thank you for that warm welcome home this morning." He teased. 

Skylar bit her bottom lip as she looked up at him. Brian has gotten home early this morning due to a flight delay and once Skylar dropped off Shiloh at school she rushed back home to jump him in the shower. "Anytime." She growled kissing him a little deeper this time. 

"Look a horsey!" Shiloh exclaimed. 

"That's a police horse babygirl." Brian called out. "Wanna go see?" Shiloh answered with a bright smile as she grabbed his hand pulling him over to the horse. 

"Excuse me!" Brian called out when they got closer. "Sorry to bother you Officer but can my little girl see your horse for a minute?" 

"Absolutely." The officer smiled. "This is Officer Trooper." He told Shiloh holding the harness so the little girl could pet his nose. Shiloh giggled as his warm breath tickled her hand. 

Skylar stayed back and observed as Brian picked her up tossing her on top of Trooper then stepped back to take a few pictures as the officer stayed close making sure she didn't fall. 

"It's unbelievable." Skylar heard a voice say from behind her. When she turned and saw Cha, she smiled. "Sometimes I forget I'm looking at the same man from 4 years ago." Cha continued. 

"We've both done a lot of growing especially this year." Skylar said, her eyes still locked on Brian and Shiloh. 

"It's different with him. It's like he wasn't living before." Cha added. What Skylar tended to forget is Cha knew him long before her. She knew the party Q, the bachelor Q, the guy that no one ever saw settling down. "Shiloh is all he talks about now." Cha smiled as she watched with Skylar. 

"Gee and to think I was all he ever used to talk about." Skylar laughed. 

"Oh trust, we still get sick of hearing about you too." Cha teased, "But I'm telling ya, when he talks about that little girl, it's like he's talking about winning the damn lottery." 

The two women's conversation was cut short when they heard Shiloh yell out, "Skylar look at me!!" 

"I see you!" Skylar smiled heading over to join her little family. A family she prayed would always be together.   
______________________________  
"Sup Sky?" Brock greeted coming up and leaning against her desk. Skylar mentally rolled her eyes, only people that ever called her Sky was family. Brian even rarely called her that. 

"Hi Brock. Just going over this Wall Street story. Details keep getting crazier." She said trying to focus on work instead of small talk. 

"Yeah it is a pretty good scam he had going on." Brock agreed. "So...you going to the big dinner tonight?" 

"Yup. I'll be there. You?" She asked flipping through her stack of papers. 

"Sure am. Unfortunately alone though." He added. 

"Oh? No Brittany?" She asked. 

"We broke up." Brock answered. 

"Oh Brock, I'm sorry to hear that." Skylar said. "Break ups are sucky." 

Brock let out a heavy sigh, "I'll be fine." He smiled sadly. "Q in town for this?" He asked. 

The question kind of threw Skylar off, "Yes? Why?" 

"Just wondering." He answered then stood up to walk away, "See you guys tonight then!"   
________________________________  
Skylar descended the stairs with the sound of whistles. "Look at you!" Bessy smiled. "My little cousin is a smoke show!" 

"She sure is." Brian responded coming into the living room and grabbing his girl from behind. She was wearing an emerald green cocktail dress that hugged her curves perfectly but was still professional since this was a work party. 

Skylar bent her head back capturing the scent of Brian's aftershave. He finally caved and trimmed his beard back. "Mmm... you smell good." She moaned placing a kiss to his neck. 

Bessy knew this was her cue to give them some privacy and slipped into the kitchen to check on the girls. No matter how long the couple was together they would still get hot and heavy for one another when the mood struck them. 

Tonight her and Milana were over to hang with Shiloh while Brian and Skylar went to this work party. Joe opted to stay home with Remo since he was still pretty little and on a stricter schedule. Milana and Shiloh had become close over the past couple months and were currently giggling at the table tracing their hands and making funny pictures with them. 

"We shouldn't be too late tonight. I know you are keeping Milana out past her bedtime." Skylar said when her and Brian reentered the kitchen after their mini make out session. 

"It's honestly no big deal. I'm happy to help. Plus looks like the girls don't even need me much." Bessy laughed pointing to the giggling girls. 

Brian bent down kissing the top of Shiloh's head. "Be good baby." Skylar and Bessy exchanged looks as they watched the little blonde stand on her chair to hug Brian tightly. At this point the only thing stopping Shiloh from being theirs was a piece of paper.   
_______________________________  
"I can't believe you didn't tell me!" Brian exclaimed beaming with pride. 

"I honestly forgot about it. Never thought I stood a chance." Skylar answered looking at the plaque she had just received. 

"Producer of the year. It's incredible baby. I am so proud of you!" Brian smiled kissing her cheek. 

"Thanks honey." Skylar smiled leaning more into his kiss. God she couldn't wait to get home with this guy. Very slowly Shiloh was starting to sleep in her bed all night so their sex life had certainly spiced up again. 

"There she is! The lady of the hour!" They heard a voice behind them call out. Turning around Brian had to fight the urge to roll his eyes.

"Thanks Brock." Skylar smiled. "Definitely wasn't expecting it that's for sure." 

"Don't be modest. You're the best producer I've ever worked with." Brock continued with the praise. He then looked to the man holding Skylar's hand, "Q how are ya man?" 

"Not bad, good to see you again Brock." Brian greeted shaking his hand. He would be lying if he said he got a bit jealous of Brock sometimes. Good looking younger man spending so much time traveling with his girl would make any man uneasy. Luckily Skylar didn't travel much these days so he was learning to not care so much. 

"Excuse me Skylar." Cynthia interrupted, “May I steal you for a moment?” 

“Cynthia! Hi of course. Brian this is Cynthia, one of the executives for World News.” She said making the quick introduction. 

“Pleasure to meet you.” Brian said with a polite hug. 

“Pleasure is all mine. I must say you are even handsomer in person than on TV.” She smiled. 

Brian laughed at the compliment and watched as the two women slipped away to the bar. Unfortunately this left him to socialize with Brock. 

Over at the bar, Cynthia led Skylar over to a corner where their was an older Asian man sitting. “Skylar I wanted to introduce you to Ben Linn, our partner in Beijing. 

“Nice to meet you Mr. Linn. I’m Skylar Thompson.” She smiled. 

“I know who you are my dear. Cynthia has told me all about this young driven producer.” Ben commented. 

“Have you thought anymore about my offer?” Cynthia asked cutting to the chase. 

Skylar was a little shocked, she thought she made herself clear that this wasn’t an opportunity for her. “As I said Cynthia, I can’t tell you how flattered I am but I couldn’t leave New York for that long.” 

“It’s an amazing job opportunity that will only open more doors for you my dear. You really should consider changing your mind.” Ben added.  
_______________________________

“So... Brock you a Yankees guy?” Brian asked taking a sip from his beer trying to make conversation. 

“Oh yeah! Adams is looking great this year.” Brock answered. 

“Sure is. Best thing they did was finally bring him up from the minors.” Brian agreed. 

Brock noticed Brian then look over towards Skylar talking to Cynthia and another guy at the bar. “I’m telling ya, that girl of yours has stones.” He said. 

“Excuse me?” Brian immediately asked turning his gaze to him now. 

Brock held up his hands in defense, “No disrespect. It’s just girl her age gets offered an amazing opportunity in China to head the office over there and she turns it down. Can’t wrap my mind around giving up something like that.” 

Brian cocked his head to the side in confusion. Skylar...new job...in China?! Why was this the first he was hearing of this?


	22. Bad Words

Brian would never make a scene at a huge event, especially one that was so important for his girl's career. However that didn't change the fact that he was pissed off. This asshole knew about something huge like this about Skylar but he didn't. Why wouldn't she tell him about the offer? 

Skylar could tell something was wrong when she got back from talking to Cynthia and Ben Linn. When she asked if he was okay he responded sharply that he was. The drive home wasn't any better and Skylar felt pretty confused and a little uncomfortable that her boyfriend's mood had turned so sour so suddenly. 

When they walked into the house Bessy was reading on the love seat while the girls snoozed against one another on the larger sofa. "How was the night?" Bessy smiled speaking softly so she didn't wake the kids. 

"Great, Skylar won producer of the year." Brian grumbled seeming not as impressed as Bessy would think he would be. He was always the first to brag about her cousin's accomplishments. 

"That's great!" She smiled ignoring Q's foul mood and hugging her cousin. 

"Yeah it was unexpected that's for sure." Skylar smiled sadly accepting the compliment. 

Bessy was sensing some tension and decided to leave quickly and give them their privacy. She would hopefully get more of the story tomorrow from Skylar. She quickly scooped up her still sleeping daughter and headed out quietly. 

Brian headed into the kitchen for a beer but Skylar was fast on his heels. "Alright..." she started coming into the kitchen, "What the hell is your problem?" She asked now completely over the silent treatment she was getting. 

"Nothing." He snapped taking a long sip from his beer. 

Skylar had had it and quickly grabbed the bottle from his grasp causing liquid to fall to the floor. "Excuse me!" He barked. 

"Yeah...Excuse you!" Skylar responded slamming the bottle down on the counter. "What the fuck is your deal?! And don't say nothing, I'm sick of that answer!" 

"When the hell were you gonna tell me you were offered a job in China?!" Brian finally gave in. 

Skylar's face automatically dropped hearing him actually say the words. "So you were keeping it from me!" Brian exclaimed when he saw the panic on his girl's face. 

"I wasn't keeping it from you I just..." Skylar began to say. 

"Not telling me on purpose is keeping it from me Skylar." Brian said rolling his eyes and grabbing his beer back off the counter. 

"I'm not taking it so why does it matter?" She countered. 

"Exactly, why does it matter!?" He yelled throwing his arms up in the air. "I had to hear about it from that fucking asshole, how you think that made me look when I had no clue what he was talking about?" 

"What asshole?" Skylar asked now completely lost. 

"Brock." Brian asked with a jealous tone to his voice. 

"Why is he an asshole?" Skylar asked cocking her head to the side on confusion. 

"Oh please, the guy wants you. And if you don't see it, you're an idiot." Brian snapped.

"Don't call me an idiot Brian!" Skylar shouted feeling her rage build. "And I work with the guy so don't even fucking start with that shit!" 

Brian was about to open his mouth and continue the argument when he stopped shutting his mouth instantly. Skylar saw the look on his face and quickly turned around to see what he was looking at...better yet who he was looking at. "Shit." She sighed under her breath when she saw a tiny blonde girl in a Frozen nightgown crying in the doorway clinging to her stuffed koala bear. 

"Why are you yelling and using bad words?" Shiloh managed to say through her hysteric tears. The couple eyed each other quickly. During her therapy sessions with Dr. Fields it didn’t take long to figure out that yelling, especially the loudness of a man’s voice was a big trigger for the little girl. Of course Dr.Fields knew it wasn’t realistic for a couple to not fight but she strongly urged them to be mindful of this when around Shiloh, at least until she had more time to work with the girl. Shiloh would need to learn how to cope with yelling but at this point she was still very fragile. Up until this point the couple had been good about not fighting in front of Shiloh. 

“Hey baby.” Brian said softly placing his beer back down and stepping closer to the small child. However with each step he took, Shiloh clutched her stuff animal tighter and kept backing away. “Shiloh come here.” Brian said. 

For the very first time Shiloh was very fearful of Brian. She had never heard him yell like that and it scared her to death. Flashbacks of the bad man screaming at Mommy kept racing through her mind. Brian had never seen Shiloh look at him like she was now, he usually saw nothing but a sweet little girl that he could make laugh and smile all the time. Now the guilt was setting in that he was truly frightening her. 

Skylar immediately picked up on the same feeling and bent down reaching for her hand. With a little hesitation Shiloh reached out her shaky little hand, her breathing still heavy with fright. “Brian and I were just having a little fight. It’s nothing serious though honey.” Skylar said stroking the little girl’s hair. 

“But you were saying all kinds of bad words.” She chocked out. 

“You’re right we were.” Skylar answered taking a deep breath. Her adrenaline was still pumping from the argument but that had to be placed on hold for the moment. “Sometimes grown up have to fight. It’s how they let out what’s bothering them. But you know Brian would never hurt me or you. He loves us way to much.” 

Shiloh looked up uneasily at Brian who had now taken a seat at the table. “I don’t like when you fight.” She said sadly. 

“I don’t either.” Skylar responded, “I’m sorry we scared you Shiloh, we will do better at making sure that doesn’t happen anymore.” She added this time locking eyes with Brian. 

The walls that the little girl had put up when she heard yelling slowly started to drop and slowly she shuffled her feet over to the man at the table. Cautiously Brian reached down for her and Shiloh let him place her on his lap. “I’m sorry baby. I lost my temper but Skylar’s right I would never do anything to hurt you both.” 

Slowly her tears were starting to dry up and as tight as she could Shiloh wrapped her arms around Brian’s neck, the only man she had ever trusted in her whole life.   
________________________________  
It took some time but they were finally able to get the little girl calmly to sleep in her own bed. Skylar must have read her 10 books but with Sapphire at the foot of the bed, Shiloh’s eyes grew heavy and eventually the couple was able to slip out. Shiloh and the tiniest cat in the house had formed a bond quickly and now wherever the little girl was, you could be sure a small white kitten wasn’t far behind. 

Being so consumed with Shiloh, they hadn’t addressed their argument in the kitchen yet. After brushing her teeth and taking off her makeup, Skylar entered the bedroom. She pulled back the covers and slid in next to her man. Leaning over she placed a small kiss to his cheek. “You’re right I should have told you. I’m sorry I didn’t.” She said.

“Just be honest with me, did you consider taking it?” He asked looking at her in desperation with those giant brown eyes she couldn’t imagine her days without. 

“I could never leave you for a job baby.” She answered quickly, “I could never leave you for anything in this world.” 

Satisfied with that answer, Brian pulled her close then began running his hand down her body. As he made love to her that night, Skylar put out of her thoughts the offer from Cynthia tonight to double her salary if she took the job. Her home was New York, her home was Brian.


	23. Unicorns and Magic

"Shiloh look!" Skylar called out into the playroom they had given to her. Toys were starting to become a little excessive, between Brian and his family constantly buying her things so the back room that led to the yard was now Shiloh's area. She insisted they stop buying her so much stuff but no one seemed to be listening. 

The little girl peaked her head into the kitchen and saw Skylar holding up an envelope, "You got invited to a birthday party!" Skylar smiled. 

"Really?" Shiloh answered, "Why?" 

Skylar let out a laugh, "What do you mean why silly? One of your friends at school wants you to celebrate her birthday with her." Skylar quickly made her way over to the calendar to make sure her schedule was free to take her. Seems like Brian was on the road that weekend but she was home. 

The little girl was excited but very surprised. She had never been to a birthday party before. "What do you do at birthday parties?" She asked looking up to Skylar. 

She was a bit taken back by the question, "Well you play with your friends and family, eat cake, people bring presents, they sing happy birthday to you. It's a lot of fun." She answered and began to smile thinking back to all her birthday parties. Her mom would always go all out and make sure she had the best parties. It then dawned on her that perhaps Shiloh never had a party of her own. The little girl's birthday was coming up in just a few short weeks. Brian and her had just planned on taking the day and letting Shiloh pick what she wanted to do but now Skylar had another idea. As Shiloh skipped back into the playroom to check if her pretend cookies were done inside her doll house Skylar called the one person she knew would be just as excited to throw a birthday party. 

"Hey Carol!" She greeted when the older woman picked up the phone. "Can I ask for your help with something?   
_______________________________  
Joe saw Q's expression across the lawn and burst out laughing. "It's best to stay out of the way and let them work." Joe called out as he joined his friend over by the grill. Currently his mom,Bessy, and Skylar were all running around setting up decorations. It was a unicorn theme, Shiloh's favorite thing in the world, and it looked like a magically rainbow land, even down to the lawn being spray painted 6 different colors. A bouncy house had been delivered at 8am and Skylar also hired a company that did face painting and balloon animals. 

"Babe!" Skylar called out. "We need another extension cord for the cotton candy machine." 

"Cotton candy?" Brian questioned, "Jesus Skylar this is insane." Never in his life did he see a birthday party so elaborate. 

"Brian! Extension cord, now!" His mother ordered. 

"Yeah yeah I'm going." He grumbled as he got up and headed towards the shed at the back of the yard. 

Skylar laughed as she saw how quickly Brian moved when his mom said something. 43 years old and he still jumped when his mom told him to. She was so relieved she was here to help. 

"Don't you think this is all little much?" Brian said as he approached the ladies with the orange cord. 

"Baby you didn't see the look on her face when she went to the party a couple weeks ago. It was like she had never seen anything like it. 6 years old and she's never had a birthday party." Skylar explained. 

"I get it." He sighed. The thought of Shiloh being so under privileged because of choices that were made for her made him sick to his stomach if he thought about it long enough. He then kissed his girl then his mom on the cheeks, "She's gonna have a really good day today." He smiled. "I'm gonna start bringing out the burgers and sausages."

Any doubts that were circling in Brian Quinn's mind about such an over the top party melted away the second he saw Shiloh's face. She had been with Brian's younger brother and sister in law while everything was being set up. When the guest of honor arrived she was amazed. "Is this all for me?!" She cried out when she saw the colorful decorations, balloons, and blow up unicorns all over the backyard. She was so excited to see all the people she had grown to love in one place. Brian's parents and brothers along with all their kids, Joe and Bessy with their kids, members of the IJ crew, Bryan Johnson with his girlfriend and daughter, Sal and his nieces, Murray with his nieces and nephews, Melrose with her goddaughter, and even some of the kids from Shiloh's class. It was a packed house and full of people that loved her. 

As Brian tended to the grill he looked on as Shiloh hollered with laughter as she jumped with the other kids in the bouncy house. A huge smiled spread across his face. His older brother Jimmy came over and noted the smile on his brother's face. "So this is why parents go crazy huh?" Brian asked. 

"Whatta mean?" Jimmy responded. 

"This is why parents spend crazy amounts of money and energy on the perfect party. To see that look right there?" He stated using the set of grille tongs he was holding to point to the squealing little blonde. 

"Pretty much." Jimmy laughed. His kids were a bit older now but in the past he had his experience with crazy birthday parties and never regretted a single one. 

"I know she's not mine but...." Brian started to say as he turned and went back to cooking. 

"Stop it!"Jimmy interrupted sternly. "That child may not have your blood but from what I see, you were born to be her dad. You feed her, clothe her, take care of her when she's sick or afraid, and love her even when it's difficult sometimes. That's what makes a parent little brother and you're one of the best damn ones I've ever seen." As Jimmy walked off to take pictures of his own kids, Brian smiled never in a million years thinking his heart could ever feel this full. 

He saw Skylar running from guest to guest laughing and smiling. This was it, this was his life and he never wanted to let it go. Joe was over with Remo watching the little boy scamper around. After placing the next batch of burgers and hot dogs on a serving tray he walked quickly over to his friend. "I'm doing it tonight." He said quietly so no one would hear. 

"Doing what?" Joe asked. 

"Proposing. I've been waiting for the perfect moment and I think I finally found it." Brian smiled. Joe's only response was a massive smile and hug to his friend. He couldn't be happier.   
________________________________  
The party was an ultimate success. Skylar brought out a beautiful huge unicorn cake that Shiloh was beaming at. She was smiling so big she could barely blow out the candles and everyone was frantically taking photos. The favorite photo of the day was of Skylar and Brian on either side of Shiloh in front of the cake. Shiloh screamed in laughter as she smeared frosting on Brian's nose. 

Now was the time, Brian was going to slip away , run to the safe and grab the ring. He didn't wanna go another second without this woman as his future wife. He gave Joe a subtle signal  to get his camera ready soon when suddenly the gate to the yard opened. “What the hell?” Skylar said looking on as two New Jersey police officers entered their yard. 

“Can I help you?” Brian called out walking closer to the officers. 

“Brian Quinn and Skylar Thompson?” One of the officers asked. 

“Yeah?” Brian responded then his eyes grew when he saw Joan, the program director from St. Elizabeth’s. Skylar quickly came forward standing next to Brian. 

“Does this look familiar?” Joan asked coldly holding up a piece of paper. Brian snatched it quickly from her hand to examine what it was. “It’s a W2 from Sapphire Gentlemen’s Club with your name and social security number on it.” 

Skylar’s stomach dropped instantly. “I don’t know....”

“And this!” Joan interrupted holding up a second piece of paper“ is a copy of your original application for fostering. And right here you checked off that you never worked in the adult industry. Now mistake me if I’m wrong but isn’t Sapphire a strip club?” Skylar felt about 2 inches tall at the moment. Everyone, friends and family, were staring as this woman continued to talk down to her like she was a piece of garbage. “Isn’t it?!” Joan yelled this time. 

“Ye yes.” Skylar jumped stuttered out her answer. 

“What you think we weren’t going to find out eventually?” Joan asked. 

Brian had had just about enough of this woman standing on his property yelling at Skylar humiliating her. “Is there a point to all this?!” Brian finally asked angrily. 

“The point is if you lied about that, what else have you lied about?” Joan answered sharply turning towards Brian. The woman looked across the yard seeing Shiloh sitting in front of her birthday cake looking very nervous at all the yelling. “Shiloh’’ she called out, “You have to come with me honey.” 

“She’s not going anywhere!” Brian said jumping in Joan’s path. 

“You fight me on this, you’re going to have to deal with these policemen who will gladly arrest the two of you for kidnapping. Consider your guardianship of Shiloh terminated.” Joan spat.

Brian looked around for a moment realizing he didn’t have a pray with keeping this child another second. Skylar couldn’t even look at him and was doing her best to control her tears. Taking a deep breath he looked at Joan and in a shaking voice, “Can we at least say goodbye?” 

“I’ll give you ten minutes to say goodbye and pack her things.” Joan answered. “Bring her out front to the car and if you try anything you will be arrested.”   
________________________________  
Upstairs in Shiloh’s room, Skylar packed a couple bags with clothes and a few toys. “I don’t understand.” Shiloh began to cry piecing together what was happening. “Why do I have to go away, you said I was being good. You said you would never send me away.” Tears were flooding down her eyes. 

It was taking everything in Brian’s power not to cry himself. He knelt down on the floor pulling Shiloh in for a tight hug, “Its nothing you did baby, there was a mistake with the paperwork.” He said knowing there was no way the little girl was going to understand this. “We...” Brian started to say but felt a huge lump in his throat, “We can’t keep you anymore. I’m so sorry baby.” 

Skylar was now a sobbing mess seeing what this was doing to her boyfriend. She knew she shouldn’t cry in front of Shiloh like this but her body couldn’t hold it back anymore. She joined them on the floor, hugging them as tightly as she could. 

Ten minutes later the three came down the stairs. A lot of people felt they needed their privacy and had left quickly but sitting on the front porch were the Quinns, Joe and Bessy, and Sal who knew he couldn’t leave his friends right now. Murray and Bryan volunteered to stay in the backyard with the kids. 

There was not a dry eye as Shiloh walked hand in hand with her foster parents towards the car that would take her back to a place she didn’t want to go back to. 

“You know this isn’t right.” Brian said to Joan as they approached. 

“It’s not right what you did.” Joan responded unfazed by the fact that she was breaking this little girl’s heart. “Come on Shiloh.” 

Shiloh clung to Brian’s leg tightly. “I don’t wanna go!” She screamed, “Please! Please!” She yelled at Skylar, “Please don’t make me go!” She screamed tears burning her eyes. 

Brian scooped up the child hugging her tightly. Shiloh’s knuckles were white from holding onto his neck so hard. Skylar placed her hand over the little girl’s cheek kissing the side of her hair. “I’m sorry Shiloh, this is my fault. I’m so sorry.” She whispered. 

“Come on, give her to me.” Joan said now getting annoyed at the time this was taking. She went to grab her but Shiloh turned and bit her hand. “Ouch!” Joan shouted pulling her hand back and rubbing it with the other. “Get her in the car.” She said to one of the officers. 

“Come on sweetie.” The policeman said grabbing her from Brian’s arms. It took everything he had to actually let go of the screaming child that was now reaching out for him. 

“Brian!! Skylar!! Please!!” Shiloh cried kicking fiercely. Everyone on the porch was looking on in horror. How could this be happening? 

Finally the officer got her in the car and buckled in. With the door shut, her screams were a little more muffled. “Pretty sad you are taking her away from the only happy home she’s ever known over a small white lie. Thought you were supposed to be in the business of helping children. How is this helping her?” Brian called out as Joan opened her car door. 

“Goodbye Mr. Quinn, Ms. Thompson.” She bid farewell coldly. 

As they watched Shiloh drive away, Skylar fell to the bottom step sobbing. Bessy was immediately by her cousin’s side hugging her as tight as she could. At a time he should have been by her side, Brian felt nothing but rage towards his girlfriend. 

He approached the step where she was sitting and looked down, “You just had to lie didn’t you?!” He exploded. 

Skylar looked up still crying, “I didn’t think they...” she tried to say through her cries.

“Don’t!” He yelled over her, “It’s just your rules and I have to play along, just like always! I told you it was bad idea to lie but did you listen?! No! Do you ever!! No!” 

Everyone looked on in total disbelief as Brian continued to scream at the woman he loved. 

“It’s just about what you fucking want, always is! I didn’t wanna foster in the first place, but nooo you just had to. So I go along with it, fall in love with this little girl, spend my time and money on giving her the best I possibly can, and now what?! She’s gone Skylar!” 

“I’m sorry!” Skylar cried out placing her head in her hands. “I’m sorry Brian.” She sobbed. 

“Alright Q that’s enough!” Joe said finally stepping in, not being able to watch another second of this. 

“No!” He screamed in Joe’s face, “No more Joe! No more defending her and condoling poor Skylar. It’s done! She needs to start taking responsibility for her actions.” 

“Brian stop it!” His father yelled down from the top of the porch. “I understand you’re upset but this is no way to handle it.” James Quinn said sternly. He raised his son better than this. 

Brian simply shook his head and pushed his way past Skylar on the steps heading into the house to find his car keys. Before entering the house he turned to get one last look at a crying Skylar, “Just know that tonight that little girl is going back to a place she hates, where she is mocked and afraid and it’s all because of your actions.” He then made his way in the house slamming the screen door behind him.


	24. Breaking Point

It had been two days since the party. Two days since Shiloh was taken away. Two days since Skylar and Brian had spoken to one another. After screaming at Skylar, Brian got in his car and left for the night. Bessy, Joe, and members of Brian's family stayed behind to help clean up the mess from the party. Sal and Bryan Johnson left to find Q but came back hours later empty handed. That night when everyone was gone, Skylar made the decision that she wouldn't be here in the morning whenever he decided to show his face. She was already consumed with so much guilt and grief, she didn't need to add another argument on top of it. 

She showed up at Bessy and Joe's the next morning around 10. "Come on." Bessy smiled sadly at her little cousin when she opened the door. Skylar didn't even have to ask if she could stay here, she knew the invitation would be there anytime she needed. Skylar considered a hotel instead but desperately needed to be around family. 

So now she sat for two days in the Gatto guest room living out of a suitcase. She cried constantly trying to be as quiet as possible not wanting to attract any attention but the truth was her heart was broken. She missed Shiloh and felt sick to her stomach that her actions put her back in that place. She missed Brian more than she could put into words. Her phone hadn't made a single peep from him and deep within her heart she knew she pushed him too far. He was done with her. 

As Skylar laid in bed twiddling the thread to a blanket between her fingers, she heard voices coming from downstairs. "So you talked to him?" Bessy said down stairs in the kitchen. 

"Yeah." Joe sighed, "He was in the office when I got in." 

"And?" Bessy egged on. 

"And what babe? He's upset, he's angry, he's heartbroken. The man's a wreck." Joe answered. Upstairs Skylar with her head pocked out into the hall for a better listen was trying to ignore the guilt piercing her heart. 

"Does he ever plan on calling her?" Bessy asked not giving her husband a moment to breathe. "It's been two fucking days Joe." 

"I know how long it's been and so does he but..." Joe began to say but then paused thinking how to word what he said next. "He has a right to be upset." 

"I'm not saying he doesn't but what...he's just never gonna speak to her again?!" Bessy asked slamming the fridge door. 

The last thing Joe wanted was to fight with his wife over Q and Skylar's problems, "Of course he's gonna talk to her, the guy just needs some time. He must have told her a hundred times to be honest on that application and she didn't listen. He's angry and more so worried about Shiloh right now." Joe explained coming to his friend's defense. 

"But at the end of the day, Q went along with it." Bessy pointed out. 

"Of course he did. Because at the end of the day, Q would do anything to make that girl happy. But then he started to become a parent and now sees that there's more to life than pleasing Skylar all the time." Joe countered repeating how Brian had explained his feelings earlier today. 

Upstairs Skylar couldn't hear anymore. Quietly she shut the door sitting back on the bed, it was time she stopped feeling sorry for herself and decide where to go from here. Shiloh was gone and apparently so was Brian.   
_______________________________  
Brian Quinn walked in the door that evening, more tired than he could possibly describe. Yesterday all he did was sleep and go through a range of emotions. Sometimes he missed Skylar so much he was so close to calling but then he would go upstairs and see the empty room that belonged to Shiloh and that's when he would get angry. Armed with a bottle of Jameson he sat in that room for hours, sipping away and replay memories in his head. He thought about the first time Shiloh saw her room and how excited she was to have her own space. Times of soothing her when she had a nightmare or listening to her as she read books to him trying her hardest to sound out words. He smiled sadly when he saw the different colors of magic marker on the wall. Shiloh had decided one day to add some color to the white walls and that was the first time Brian had put her in time out. He hated to do it but he understood being a parent was not all about having fun, it came with discipline too. As he continued to drink he just kept thinking about the fact that she wasn't here anymore and all because Skylar was ashamed of her past. 

That night when he got home he collapsed on his couch in pure exhaustion. He was pretty surprised he made it through the whole day at the office. As he closed his eyes he heard a scratching sound coming from underneath him. Looking down he noticed Sapphire clawing at the base of the leather couch. 

"Sapphire!" He yelled causing the little kitten to jump, "Knock it off." Sapphire started rubbing against his hand that was dangling off the couch in an effort at an apology. Rolling his eyes he picked up the cat setting her on his chest. "What am I gonna do with you, huh?" He said in a much calmer voice. Sapphire began batting at his beard with her paw like she always did making him laugh for a moment. "I know you miss them too." Brian said scratching under the kitten's neck calming down as he listening to her purr contently. 

Suddenly the other three Quinn cats crowded around the couch looking up at their dad. "Yeah I know I gotta call her." He sighed feeling like he was getting the 3rd degree from all the felines circling him. Benjamin then jumped up on top of Brian's head meowing loudly. "Alright!" He called out placing his black cat back on the floor, "I'll call her now."   
_______________________________  
Skylar finally came out of the guest room and joined the Gatto family on the deck for dinner. The kids got her laughing for a bit. She was still being pretty quiet, especially around Joe, he seemed to be siding with Brian on everything. If she was in a better mood she would find the irony pretty funny. 

Still keeping her phone close by in case it happened to ring she jumped and frantically grabbed it when it finally did. "It's him." She said immediately getting up and walking into the house. "Hello." She answered shakily. 

"Hey." Brian responded softly. 

"Hi." Skylar said shyly not exactly knowing what to say. 

"Sorry I haven't gotten in touch, you still at Joe's?" He asked. 

"Yeah." She answered shortly. A part of her was upset that he had been MIA but another part understood. 

"Think it's time we talked about what happened." He said. 

"I agree. I can come over if you want." She offered. 

"I'll be here." He said. 

"Ok, I lov...." she began to say but quickly realized the line went dead.   
_______________________________  
Should she use her key? Does she knock? These were the thoughts running through her head as she walked up the stairs to the house. Luckily the door swung open before she reached it so she didn't have to make the choice. "Hey." He greeted sadly putting his hands in his jean pockets. 

"Hi." She responded taking in his appearance. He looked like hell. Bloodshot eyes, deep bags, and hair completely unkept. As she followed him in she smiled when she saw four cats begin to crowd her. "Hi guys." She smiled sitting down on the floor petting each one. The tiniest one climbed right into her lap purring happily. 

"She being any trouble?" Skylar asked looking up at Brian referencing Sapphire. 

"Not anymore than usual." Brian answered cracking a small smile. 

As Skylar stood back up looking at the man she was so madly in love with she got a sudden unsettling feeling in her gut. He used to be the easiest person to talk to, now she was struggling to form words around him. "I know you're mad at me and you have every right to be." She started with. 

Brian sighed heavily taking a seat on the couch. He rubbed his eyes a few times before speaking. "It's not about being angry Skylar.." he then paused and thought, "Well maybe it is but it's more than that. I ultimately went along with your dishonesty because that's what I always do."

"When else have I been dishonest?" She jumped in. 

"I'm talking about doing everything in my power to make you happy. Jesus Skylar I've spent almost 3 years bending over backwards for you. You wanted another cat, didn't matter what I said. You wanted more of a commitment , I go out and buy a ring. You wanted to foster, you get your way with that too. I tell you not to lie on the application, nope you go ahead and do it anyway." At this point Brian was up and pacing the living room, his annoyance starting to bubble again. "Relationships are supposed to be about give and take and it just seems like all I do is give into your wants." 

Skylar stood in complete shock, never once did Brian ever say these things before. Never once did he express this type of distain towards her actions. "Brian....I'm sorry. I didn't know I was doing that." She apologized. 

"It's partly my fault I guess." He sighed, "But now we have lost someone too important and I just can't see past that right now." Deep down he knew Skylar was the sweetest most caring person walking the planet. Someone that would give her last dollar to anyone but his mind just wouldn't think about that Skylar right now. All he saw was a spoiled brat that stomped her feet when she didn't get her way on things. Someone that was so focused on hiding their past mistakes, they would do anything to cover them up and now it costed them. 

It was time for Skylar to ask the one question she didn't want to, "Are you breaking up with me?" She asked broken heartedly tears beginning to surface. 

"A long time ago I was in a relationship where I started to resent the person I was with and it ended horribly." He started to explain talking about his former fiancé. "I love you too much to let that happen with us." He then let out a heavy sigh then proceeded to say the one thing he never pictured saying to this girl. "I think we need a break." 

Skylar's head shot up as her mascara trickled down her face. Brian saw the look of despair on her face and immediately wanted to jump into protective mode like he would have done every other time in the past but he stopped himself. "Not a breakup...just a break for a little while. Give us both some time for prospective and then we can revisit us after we've reflected on what it is we need out of this relationship." 

"No." Skylar suddenly answered forcefully not wanting to hear another word of Brian's crap. 

"Excuse me?" He said. 

"I'm not taking a break. I think they are a cop-out Brian. Now I am sorry for my actions and I can't apologize anymore for them but I refuse to step aside and let you do whatever it is you wanna do and not feel guilty about it because technically we aren't together." She stated. 

"Jesus Christ, that's what you think I'm doing?!" He exclaimed, "Skylar this isn't about me going out, having fun, and getting a hall pass from life for a little while." He said shaking his head not believing she really thought that little of him after all these years. 

"I know what a break means Brian and the answer is no. So we are either together and face this as a united couple or we are broken up. Because I won't have you just hit the pause button and expect to pick up where we left off when you're ready. That's not fair." The last thing Skylar wanted was a breakup but she also needed to stand her ground on how she felt. 

Brian looked sadly down at the floor, "Then I guess we're breaking up." He said as a giant lump formed in his throat. Quickly he turned his back quickly wiping away the tears before they fell. 

Skylar was silent and in utter shock. She sat on the couch immediately so her knees didn't buckle from underneath. Her entire world was essentially gone at this moment. Every ounce of happiness she had over the past three years was just ripped out of her. After too much silence, she turned her gaze to the stair case. A staircase they used to go to bed, ones he had chased her up when they were being silly, ones they stumbled up after coming home drunk together, ones they carried Shiloh up when she fell asleep on the couch. "Guess I should get packing." She whispered almost like she didn't believe she was saying the words. 

Just then Sapphire made her presence known again and jumped up next to her. As Skylar petted her Brian's voice brought her back to attention, "I know Joe and Bessy have the dogs, so she can stay here. It's up to you." He said. 

"Ok." She responded in a weak voice. As much as she loved that cat, she was the last thing Skylar was thinking about. 

"I'm gonna get everything packed but it may take me a couple trips to get it all out of here." She said. 

"Take your time." Brian answered trying to look anywhere but in her direction. She wasn't the only one who just lost their entire world. He never pictured himself actually doing what he had just done. "I'll let you get to it, I'm gonna head out for a bit." He called out as he watched her head up the stairs. 

"Where you going?" She asked sadly. 

"We're not together anymore, don't really have to tell you anymore." He responded heading towards the door. Truth was he had no idea where he was going to go but watching her pack up her things would be the ultimate twist of the knife that was already buried much too far in his heart.


	25. New Adventures

"You're not moving to China!" Bessy screamed standing over her little cousin who was busy sorting through boxes. Skylar had finally gotten all her stuff out of Brian's house and was now deciding on what should go into storage. 

She was done feeling sorry for herself. It had been a little over a week since her breakup with Brian. And as she sat there on the floor of her closet packing her life up, she cried as she worked. However just like always, Skylar was determined to pick herself up no matter what. She wasn't gonna let a failed relationship break her. After much reflection she paid Cynthia a visit in her office and asked if she missed her chance at going to Beijing. Cynthia was over the moon happy with Skylar decision to put her career first and got the paperwork filed right away. Skylar would be off to China in less than a week. 

She had just told Bessy and it was safe to say she wasn't taking it well. "This is the dumbest thing I've ever heard!" Bessy continued to yell. 

"Bessy..." Skylar sighed, "Please I could really use your support with this." 

"Well you're not getting it. I'm never gonna support this Skylar!" Bessy said turning her head into the hallway when she heard someone coming up the stairs.

"Greetings!" Joe waved trying to lighten the mood. He heard his wife yelling. Overall she was a very easy going person so he knew something must really be bothering her. 

"Thank god." Bessy said seeing her husband, "Talk some sense into her please!" She ordered. 

Joe chuckled. "Sure...I mean she's never listened to me in the past. What's up Sky?" 

Skylar was about to open her mouth and explain when Bessy cut her off, "I'll tell you what's up! Q breaks up with her and she runs away to China. I'm gonna kill him...your friend is a deadman!" She exclaimed flaring her arms all around as she expressed her frustration. 

"I'm not doing this just because of him." Skylar responded as she zipped up her first suitcase. 

"Oh really?! So would you be taking this job if you and Q were still together?" Bessy questioned whipping around giving her cousin an evil glare. 

"Look, my life has taken an unexpected turn so I figured I would try and make my career as successful as possible." Skylar tried to explain. "I don't have Shiloh anymore and Brian hates me. There's nothing here for me right now. This is the best thing for me. I need you're support." 

"Nothing here for you?" Bessy asked sadly, "What about me and the kids? What am I supposed to tell them?" 

"And the last thing Q does is hate you. He could never." Joe said stepping in. 

Skylar shook her head. She hadn’t heard from Brian since their break up. He had no intentions of fixing things, she had to move on. In fact she saw some fan pictures from an event for Tell Em Steve Dave, and there he was drinking and smiling with fans. Sure looked like he was back to enjoying the perks of being single rather quickly. 

Joe knew better than anyone that Skylar was going to do what Skylar wanted. God knows once she decided to be with Q in the first place there was nothing he could say to change her mind. The only thing his wife could do was accept it. "You really truly thought about this?" Joe asked Skylar jumping into 'dad mode'.

Skylar playfully rolled her eyes, she could feel a Joe Gatto lecture coming on. "Yes Joey. New adventure...it might be fun actually." She smiled then turned to her cousin, "We'll talk later Bes. Right now I gotta head to the office and sign some paperwork but please don't be upset. It's only 18 months, it will fly by." She then kissed her cheek, picked up a few boxes she was dropping by the storage place, and headed out. "Love you!" She called out going down the staircase.

Once Bessy was confidant Skylar was out of earshot, she turned to her husband. "You're not buying a word of this crap are you?" Bessy snapped. "New adventures and that fake smile?  Please she's trying to get as far away from Q as she possibly can." Bessy said placing her hands on her hips. 

"Do I think Skylar's heart is in China? Definitely not. But we have to support her honey." Joe responded. 

"I'll support whatever she decides...as long as it's in New York. Now you better talk to Q!" She ordered poking him in the chest. 

"For what?" Joe asked turning around as Bessy walked out of the room. He thought he made it clear to his wife he was not getting involved in their issues. 

Bessy poked her head back in the guest room, "Because if anything can convince her to stay, it's him."

Joe plopped down on the bed sighing heavily. How the hell was he even going to begin to explain this to Q?  
________________________________  
Tonight was a small show down in a small comedy club. The Tenderloins were trying to put together material for a new show and the best way they did this was with these smaller shows. The audience was only about 100 people and they usually got great feedback. Joe usually looked forward to these, it was always so much fun. However walking into the building tonight, he had a massive stomach ache. When he left the house, Skylar had just gotten back and was still trying to convince Bessy everything was for the best. As the kids played in the backyard, the two women bid Joe goodbye and just cracked open a bottle of wine. Bessy still wasn't thrilled but would never turn down wine with her cousin. 

As Joe left, Skylar got felt a huge lump in her throat. These small shows were a favorite of hers too and had her and Brian still been together, she would have been front row tonight watching her man. One of her favorite things to do was to sit in front of Brian's mic stand and flirt with him silently while he performed. She would always wear a low cut shirt at his request and would bite her lip and blush when she would catch him casually step forward and peer down her cleavage. It was a private naughty game that just the two of them knew about. On top of that she just loved seeing him on stage. The way he would jump around on stage and kick the mic stand around; it was a nervous tick he had that she found adorable. However you would never know he was nervous, he always looked sexy and in complete control up there. Sex was usually extra hot those nights because Skylar wasn't in bed with Brian, she was in bed with Q. 

"Have fun tonight." Skylar chocked out, clearing her throat when she realized her voice sounded shaky. 

When Joe got back to the small green room area in the back, he didn't know how he was even going to start this conversation. "Hey bud." Joe smiled uneasily when he saw Q walk in the back flinging his backpack down. 

"Sup man." Q greeted with a sigh. Joe looked at the most broken version of Brian Quinn he had ever seen. It was beyond Joe why he was doing this to himself if it was making him so miserable. 

As Brian pulled out a notebook scattered with things he had written down to talk about tonight, Joe decided to just rip the bandaid off. "I gotta tell you something." As he spoke Murr and Sal walked in bickering about something but fell silent when they both sensed the uneasiness of Joe Gatto. They immediately sat down ending their stupid debate. 

"Joe if it's about Skylar I'm not interested." Brian responded not looking up from his notebook. 

"I wouldn't be your best friend if I didn't tell you this." Joe went on, not taking no for an answer. 

Q let out a frustrating growl throwing his notebook to the floor. "Don't even tell me she's seeing someone. Because if she is I may fucking lose it right here." Just the thought of another man getting close to Skylar was enough to throw him in a rage. It brought him right back to the days she worked at Sapphire and the feelings he would get when he thought about her stripping for other men and giving them lap dances.

Just the way Joe’s expression was, Brian knew his world was about to get even worse. “Man I hate to be the one to tell you this but...she took the job in Beijing. Skylar’s moving next week. 

That knife in his heart that Brian has been feeling for days on end just twisted a bit deeper. All three men in the room just stared at Q waiting for him to say something...say anything.


	26. Dinner Guest

"Q? Q? Hello?" Joe kept saying waving his hand in front of Brian's face. It must have been more than 90 seconds and the man hadn't said a word. 

Sal and Murray exchanged worried looks. "Q!" Sal said a little louder, "Did you hear him?" 

Brian shook his head finally coming out of the fog, "Yeah I heard him." He said softly then grabbed his notes again. Not another word about Skylar was mentioned the rest of the night.   
________________________________  
"Ni Hao!" Brock exclaimed walking up and sitting on the side of the desk that Skylar was trying to clean out. All along she had been preparing for the move so this was her first opportunity to actually clean out her desk of two years. 

"Huh?" Skylar responded peaking up from a desk drawer looking at Brock in confusion. 

"It means Hello in Chinese. Thought I'd pick us up a couple a these." He said as he handed her a Chinese/English dictionary. 

"Us?" She asked. 

"Us!" He confirmed with a smile. "You're looking at the head reporter for World News Beijing office." 

"Wow...Umm congratulations Brock." She smiled politely. "Guess it will be great to know someone over there." 

"Exactly!" He agreed, "When we're not working, we can explore the city together. It will be great!" 

Skylar didn't know about that but it would be nice to not be completely alone in a foreign country. She quickly said bye to Brock and found out they would be flying out together the day after tomorrow. 

It took a couple hours but Skylar got all her files organized and reassigned to other producers. Her desk never looked so empty. It was then that her eyes drifted to the photos on her desk beside her computer screen. The first one was of her and Brian last Fourth of July at the lake house. She was on his back and both were smiling brightly for the picture. The other picture had many more people in it and it was taken at her college graduation. Brian had his arms tightly around her waist beaming with pride and they were surrounded by Brian’s entire immediate family as well as Joe and Bessy and the kids. Her eyes focused in on one person that she knew she had to muster up the courage and call. She figured there was no time like the present so she sighed heavily as she made the call. 

“Skylar? Honey everything okay?” Carol Quinn’s voice came through the phone. The two women hadn’t spoken since Shiloh’s party. Carol had called a few times but Skylar never answered, too upset and ashamed to face the one woman on this earth who was like a mother to her. 

“Yeah..I’m okay.” She chocked out just hearing her voice ask if she was okay. That’s the type of woman she was, she had every reason to not want to speak to Skylar but was still concerned for her. 

“Honey what’s wrong?” Carol asked. 

“Nothing.” She answered wiping a few stray tears. “I just wanted to call and say goodbye.” 

“Goodbye?” Carol asked. 

“It’s actually good news, I got a job heading production in Beijing. I leave Thursday.” She said. 

“As in China?” Carol asked stunned. 

“Yeah, it’s a great opportunity!” She said giving Carol the same speech she had given anyone that questioned her decision. 

“Wow.” Carol said on the other line, “I don’t know what to say.” She sighed then realized that didn’t sound supportive at all. “If you’re happy than I’m happy for you sweetie.” 

“I am.” Skylar answered hoping it sounds convincing. “This is the best thing for me right now.” 

“Skylar...does Brian know you’re leaving?” She blurted out not being able to keep the pink elephant out of the conversation another second. Carol was giving her son some space for the moment and hadn’t spoke to him for a number of days. When she had talked to him, he made it clear to his mom he didn’t wanna talk about Skylar at all. 

Skylar refused to answer the question and redirected immediately, “Carol I just wanted to thank you for being so welcoming to me. My moms gone but you somehow filled that piece that was missing.” The more Skylar spoke the harder it became. Her voice was getting shakier with each passing word. 

“Oh sweetheart, don’t ever thank me for that. You brought so much light to...” She began to say but stopped. It was clear Skylar didn’t wanna talk about her son just as much as her son didn’t wanna talk about her. “I love you so much. You are going to succeed no matter what you do Skylar.” 

“Thanks.” She managed to get out, “I should go...I just didn’t wanna leave without saying goodbye.” 

Little did Skylar know that when she ended the call, the older woman was crying just as hard as she was.   
________________________________  
“Why don’t you want me at least dropping you off at the airport?” Bessy asked very annoyed. 

“Why put you out?” Skylar replied, “I have a car service coming to get me, seriously it’s fine Bes.” 

“You’re so stubborn sometimes.” Bessy said rolling her eyes. 

Tonight was Skylar’s last night in the states and she was spending it low key having dinner at Bessy and Joe’s with them and the kids. Joe insisted on her inviting people over but Skylar wouldn’t even entertain the idea. As far as she was concerned she had said goodbye to everyone she needed to...well mostly everyone. 

Joe wasn’t saying anything but since Q found out about Skylar’s departure, it was like he was a shell of himself. When they weren’t shooting he was off completely alone with headphones in. No one; not Joe, Sal, Murr, Bryan Johnson, his brothers; nobody could get Brian to talk about it. So far he had cancelled three times on TESD recordings. The only reason he wasn’t cancelling on IJ filming was because he was contractually obligated to be there. However everyone on set could tell his heart wasn’t in it. His heart wasn’t into anything. Joe, among with everyone else, just prayed his heart would mend in time. 

“I made your favorite Sky.” Bessy called out taking the eggplant parmigiana from the oven. 

“Smells delicious!” Skylar smiled. 

“And I thought we could share one last bottle of wine together.” Bessy said holding up a bottle of Cabernet. 

“Last bottle for 18 months Bes. I am coming back ya know.” Skylar reminded for the 100th time. 

The kids were devouring their Mac and cheese and carrots beside the adults and just as Skylar was about to dig into her last home cook meal in awhile, the door bell sounded. With four crazy dogs barking away, Joe wiped his mouth before going to answer it. 

“Hey?” Joe answered alarmed and overall confused when he saw Q standing on his front step. “What’s up man?” 

He’d never seen his friend like this. Standing before him was a torn up Brian Quinn. He hid his messy hair underneath a backwards Yankee hat, his face was stuck in a fallen expression as it has been for weeks. “I’m sorry I should have called first but... is she here?” Brian asked. 

“She is. Bessy made dinner.” Joe answered. 

“I have to talk to her Joe. Can I come in?” Brian asked. 

Joe smiled sadly at his friend. He didn’t know how this was going to go but he couldn’t stand in the way. “Of course, come on it bud.” 

Brian followed his friend through the living room, down the hall, and into the dining room. Skylar was laughing with Remo in his highchair making duck noises that the little boy found hysterical. 

Bessy’s eyes shot open in shock when she saw him. Finally he had gotten his head out of the clouds and was finally here to talk some sense into Skylar. 

Skylar on the other hand, felt Brian’s presence before she actually turned and saw him. As much as she hated ruining the little boy’s fun she stopped immediately and looked up at the man standing in the doorway. 

“Hi.” She said softly. 

“We need to talk Skylar.” He responded.


	27. I Tried

They made their way into the Gatto's backyard taking advantage of the gorgeous night it was. Both sat on the chairs overlooking the pool. Skylar looked up toward the sky admiring all the tiny stars twinkling above. If circumstances were different she would have loved sitting out here enjoying this for hours. 

"Babe what the hell are you doing?" Joe called out coming into the kitchen after getting the kids settled with a movie. 

"Ouch!" Bessy exclaimed hitting her head on the cabinet when she jumped at her husband's voice. "Shh!!" She demanded rubbing her head. 

"Bessy close that window and give them some damn privacy." Joe ordered seeing his wife peeking out the kitchen window that over looked the yard. 

"Would you just shhh!" She said in a harsh whisper as she looked on. Joe couldn't resist the temptation either and quietly stood next to his wife looking on.   
________________________________  
"Guessing you heard by now." Skylar said breaking the silence. 

"Yeah...do you have any idea how much that sucked having to hear it from someone else. Were you ever gonna say goodbye to me?" He asked. 

"Honestly?" She asked looking over at him, "No." 

"Psst!" Brian spat in annoyance. "You called everyone but me. Sal, Murray, members of the crew, even my own mother for Christ Sakes. Do I really not mean anything to you anymore?!" 

"Of course you do!" She exclaimed horrified at the thought of him thinking that. "You mean more to me than anyone, that's why I couldn't bring myself to tell you." She instantly grew frustrated when she felt the tears coming back. 

"Why are you doing this Skylar?" He then asked. "You told me you didn't wanna take this job." 

"I didn't." She answered. "But now that things are different I just don't see anything keeping me in New York anymore." 

"Different? You really think I love you any less than I did before all this shit happened?" He asked. 

"I don't know Brian. I've never seen you look at me the way you did that day." She responded sadly. "It was like you were looking at someone you couldn't even stomach." 

"I was angry Skylar. I had a right to be." He sighed. 

"I'm not just talking about the application and Shiloh. When we talked afterwards, you just seemed to have such resent towards me. Resentment I didn't know was there." She explained, her voice struggling due to the massive lump in her throat. 

"I never wanted to break up Skylar, I just needed to clear my head for a little while. Relationships aren't perfect. I'm sure I've done shit that has pissed you off. I just needed time. Is there something wrong with that?" 

Skylar shook her head, "No." She whispered and that's when the floodgates opened and she started to cry even harder. She loved this man more than she even imagined falling in love but the decision was made, she was going. "I can't do this right now Brian." She said as she got up to walk away. 

He couldn't let her walk away. Before she could take another step he stood up quickly and grabbed her waist. He placed his hands on either sides of her neck and looked deep into her gray eyes, the eyes that captivated him years ago. Skylar was frozen, she closed her eyes and took a moment to breathe him in. She then ran her hands down his arms. These arms held her when she cried, when she was sick, when she was laughing so hard she needed him to keep her up, and when he would make love to her in bed. These were the arms she felt the most safe in. 

When she opened her eyes again, he was staring back at her, with the saddest most brownest eyes. "Don't go." He whispered into her hair as he pulled her in for a hug. "Don't do this. Stay with me forever." As he kept whispering these things she hugged him so tightly, never wanting to let go. He pulled back so he could wipe her tears away. "I need you Skylar." 

Back inside Joe and Bessy we're watching holding hands tightly. They couldn't tell what was being said but both silently prayed whatever it was it would change Skylar's mind. 

"Baby I talked to a lawyer." He said. 

"About what?" She asked wiping her nose with the side of her hand, something that Brian always found gross but also incredibly adorable when she did it. 

"We can file a motion to have Shiloh's guardianship case reopened. He thinks we have a shot." Brian explained. 

"I don't think that's a good idea." Skylar responded shaking her head. "I already destroyed any chances of getting her back Brian." 

"Then we fight!" He shouted. 

"Brian I cant! I'm so sick of fighting. That's all I've done since I was 18. I don't wanna do it anymore." She cried out. 

After hearing this Brian took a step back and looked on in confusion, "What happened to you? The girl I fell in love with never gave up. She fought for what she wanted." 

Skylar sighed heavily, "The girl you fell in love with is tired. Who knows maybe I’ll find her while I’m in China.” 

Brian stepped back away from her more. “Then fine, throw in the towel.” He said defeated then walked back into the house. Before he reached the sliding door he cocked his head to look back at her, “I was angry, I never stopped loving you even for a second. I hope you find whatever it is your looking for over there.” He couldn’t stand here anymore trying to convince her to stay. It was clear her mind was made up. 

As he walked back into the house, he saw Bessy and Joe standing by the sink trying to act like they weren’t spying outside. “I tried.” He simply said shrugging sadly and quickly leaving for his Jeep outside. Once inside all of his emotions let loose and he punched his stirring wheel so hard he felt his whole hand tingle.

Back in the yard, Bessy was immediately by her cousin’s side as she sat on the bottom step crying like her world was ending. She shook as she sobbed uncontrollably. This was actually why she didn’t wanna say goodbye to Brian, she knew it would kill her. “Can you please not say anything right now?” She managed to get out through her cries. 

Bessy didn’t say a word, just wrapped her arms around her little cousin leaning her head against hers. They stayed out there for hours as Skylar got all her crying out she could muster up. Out of all the goodbyes Skylar had been through, this was the most painful one yet.


	28. D-Day

One year later: 

"Cheers to almost making the worst decision of my life this time last year!" Brian said holding up his glass of whiskey toasting with his friends. 

Everyone in attendance was laughing. "Marrying that bitch would have been the dumbest thing you could have ever done!" Bryan Johnson exclaimed. 

"Yeah definitely dodged a bullet on that one man!" Sal agreed.

"Thought you liked her?" Brian asked cocking his eyebrow up.

"She was okay but I knew she wouldn't have made you happy. She was a good lay that lasted entirely too long!" Sal laughed. 

"And you would have never met me baby." Brian's skinny blonde girl smiled kissing his neck giggling. 

"That would have been a shame baby." Brian responded as he took his hand under the table and slid it up his girl's shirt dress into her panties. "I want you on my dick tonight babe. God your pussy is so hot." Brian growled into her ear.   
________________________________  
Skylar shot up breathless in bed covered in a cold sweat. She looked around, she was still in Bessy and Joe's guest room. The clock read 5:30am. It was all just a bad horrible dream. In hopes of washing that dream away she decided instead of trying to go back to sleep to just hop in the shower.   
________________________________  
Saying goodbye to Milana before Bessy took her to school was hard enough. Luckily the little girl didn't understand completely but she did sense something was wrong when Skylar cried as she hugged her. Remo luckily was entirely too little to catch on. Skylar couldn't help but think how much she was going to miss these kids. 

"Car will be here any minute." She smiled sadly at Bessy and Joe. 

Bessy had been crying all morning and her eyes were all red and puffy at this point. "You know you can come home anytime, right?" She said through tears. 

"I know." Skylar nodded hugging her cousin tightly. "Thank you for always being there for me, even when I didn't make it easy." She laughed through her crying.

"I'll keep up with the lake house as promised, okay?" Bessy said through tears. She knew how important that place was to Skylar, the only thing she truly had left of her parents.  

Joe looked on as his wife said goodbye to her best friend. Once they let go of one another, Skylar looked towards Joe. "God am I gonna miss you." Skylar said. 

"You're gonna do just fine kid." Joe smiled hugging her. "Please take care of him." Skylar whispered in his ear standing on her tiptoes. 

Joe pulled back and looked at Skylar. "I always do." He nodded. Neither had to use his name, they knew who they were talking about. 

Skylar's stomach dropped when she heard a car horn outside. "Guess that's my cue." She said as she wiped her mascara off her cheeks. 

"Call me when you land Sky." Bessy ordered. 

"I will." She nodded, "I love you both very much. Thank you for always having my back." 

And just like that she was in the black SUV outside that would take her to the airport. Just like that, the Gattos lost one of the biggest parts of their family.   
________________________________  
Sal was sitting at a table in the conference room with a few other producers and Will Thaxton going over props they were gonna need for the next month or two. When he looked up he spotted Joe walking in over an hour late. Joe was never late and also never looked upset but he certainly was today. Sal immediately excused himself from the table and made his way to his friend. 

"Hey, you okay?" He asked. 

"Been better." Joe sighed. "Skylar left this morning." Inside Joe was feeling so guilty leaving his wife so upset. She was a wreck over Skylar's departure. 

"This fucking sucks." Sal said. When Skylar called him a few days ago to say goodbye he was just as torn up as everyone else. When the glass doors to the Impractical Jokers office opened, both Sal and Joe looked like they saw a ghost. "What is he doing here?" Sal whispered. "Hey buddy." He then greeted as Q got closer. 

"Man what are you doing here?" Joe sighed. 

"I work here." Q answered trying to act unfazed by the fact that his heart was completely ripped out last night. His plea for her to stay ignored. 

"Q go home, we got this today. I'll call if we need your opinion on something." Joe urged. Today was final preparations for the rest of the season. They planned on sitting down with Will for the majority of the morning then having a final run threw with the comedy producers. 

"I'm fine guys okay!" Q barked. He was getting awfully sick of people coddling him lately. On top of that he was also sick to death of sitting in that house. All it was filled with that memories of the two people he didn't have anymore. As Sal walked away to resume his conversation in the conference room, Q held Joe's arm back for a private talk. "I need a favor...if you don't mind." 

"Course bud, what's up." Joe responded. 

It was then that Q pulled out a black velvet ring box from his pocket along with a written receipt. "I don't have it in me to do it." He sighed sadly. 

"You want me to return it." Joe stated in shock. 

"Please Joe, I cant go back into the store. Last time I was there I thought my life would be going much differently. Address is on the slip, I already talked to the guy, he has my card on file. All you gotta do is drop it off." Q explained. 

"No problem Buddy, I'll get it done for ya." Joe promised. It would kill him to do but he knew it would kill his friend more.  

Q nodded in gratitude, he didn't ever wanna speak of this again. "Alright great. Now is Murr around, I need to show him some PowerPoint stuff for the challenge next week." He asked now switching into work mode. As far as the subject of Skylar was, this was the last he would ever speak of her.   
________________________________  
As instructed Skylar made her way to the travelers' lounge of the international terminal. There waiting for her was Cynthia, who would be supervising for the first 4 weeks, and Brock. 

"Skylar!" Brock smiled, "You ready to do this?!" 

"Yup." Skylar managed to smile as she answered. "Good morning Cynthia." She greeted. 

Dressed to the absolute nines in a killer Chanel suit and big Dior sunglasses, her boss smiled. "I can't express how excited I am to see what you are going to accomplish. You've made the right decision Skylar."

"Thank you." Skylar answered but inside her stomach felt like it was doing somersault after somersault. Why didn't this feel like it was supposed to. She pushed the uneasiness aside and took a seat next to Cynthia. "I want to thank you for making this process so simple." She was still shocked at how fast Cynthia managed to coordinate her working papers and temporary residency in Beijing. 

"If I'm being honest, I started the paperwork months ago." Cynthia smiled with a slight chuckle. 

"I'm sorry?" Skylar asked confused. She had only agreed to the job a couple weeks ago. 

"Skylar I see so much of myself in you. I knew eventually you would figure it out. Your career is where you're mind should be, not your personal life. Things like that, my dear, are just not what's important. Business deals and money, now that's what you should be focused on." Cynthia said. Her attitude towards the idea of choosing family over work was coming off very cold and have Skylar a very unsettling feeling in her stomach. 

"If you'll excuse me, I'm going to get a drink." Skylar said pointing to the bar. She needed away from this woman for a minute. The fact that Cynthia went behind her back and wishes was downright insulting. And that comment about Skylar being just like her...Skylar was nothing like her. 

"Ketal One Martini please." She said to the bartender. Skylar steadied her hand on the bar top taking deep breaths. This was her new life now, she had to accept it. 

"Sup!" A voice came from behind her, making her jump. 

"Hey." She greeted Brock who took the seat next to her. 

"I can't tell you how excited I am." Brock smiled. 

"Yeah...me too." Skylar replied taking several sips of her drink. 

Brock knew Skylar wasn't getting what he was trying to say, "I'm not just talking about the job...I'm talking about us." He said placing his hand over hers. 

"Us?" Skylar repeated pulling her hand away quickly. 

"Oh come on, you and me in a foreign country together. You can't say you haven't thought about what could happen." He said moving closer to her face. 

"Brock, look we are gonna be working together and quite honestly I'm not in the right state of mind to even be thinking of stuff like that." Skylar said trying to back away in her seat. 

"Well then let's try to get you in the right state of mind." Brock whispered as he put his hand to the back of her neck pulling her in for a kiss. 

Before Skylar could stop, Brock's lips were on hers. He moaned as he tried to push his tongue into her mouth. As quickly as she could Skylar pushed him back using all the force she had. "Stop it!" She exclaimed getting the attention of the bartender and the couple other bar guests. 

"Oh come on Skylar! I'm on track to be a world famous reporter, talking about things that matter, not some comedian on TV that makes his money by acting like a moron." Brock said rolling his eyes and not understanding how he just got rejected. 

Skylar's eyes redden in fury. "Ya know what?!" She shouted bringing her hand back then using it to slap Brock as hard as she could across the face. 

"Ma'am are you okay?" The bartender asked immediately coming over at the scene. 

"I'm actually perfect, thank you!" She smiled her first genuine one in weeks. "And thank you Brock." She said to the reporter still rubbing his cheek. "You just stopped me from doing the stupidest thing I could have ever done. Enjoy China!" 

She went to put money on the bar for her drink but was stopped. "Please, it's on me." The kind bartender insisted. "That was pretty fucking awesome to watch." He smiled. Skylar smiled in return and quickly hopped off the stool. 

"Cynthia!" She called out walking over to her boss. "I'm sorry but I can't do this. This was a mistake." 

"What was honey?" Cynthia asked. 

"Coming here. I'm sorry and I know this is such bad timing but I'm not going to China." Skylar responded. 

"Are you insane?!" A usually cool and collected Cynthia shouted. "You can't back out now!" 

"I'm sorry but my heart isn't in this. I belong in New York." Skylar apologized. 

"You little bitch!" Cynthia spat, "I went to bat for you and this is how you repay me?! For what? A man that is going to eventually leave you?! You're being stupid!" 

"That's how your life played out Cynthia, not mine." Skylar replied. "And even if it doesn't work out for me personally, at least I know I took a chance." 

"You will never work in this industry again after I'm through. You don't spit in my face like this!" Cynthia was raging mad right now. 

In that moment Skylar remembered something her dad has taught her. 'Skylar kill your haters with kindness' So taking her dad's advice, she smiled at the woman before her. "That's perfectly okay because I QUIT!" She then took one final look around, seeing all the business suits and stuffy people she was surrounded by and took a sigh of relief that this was no longer her life. "I'm outta here!" She smiled picking up her bags and leaving this life behind once and for all.   
________________________________  
Deep down he knew it was a mistake coming into the office. Brian glanced at his watch and realized he had been in the office for 3 hours and didn't hear a word anyone said all day. He knew he wasn't giving it even close to his all and that wasn't being fair to everyone who was working so hard. Maybe his friends were right, maybe he shouldn't have come in today. 

Suddenly he heard a commotion outside the conference room. He saw looks of shock on everyone's faces but didn't know why. Then he heard it, "Brian! Brian! Is he here?!" Skylar's voice called out. Joe, Sal, and Murr looked at each other in disbelief and were quickly on their feet following a sprinting Q out into the hall that lead to the main floor of the IJ office. 

She smiled when she saw him, tears of relief coming to the surface. "I couldn't do it." She said. 

Brian smiled feeling this weight suddenly come off his chest, "Get over here." He ordered softly. In less than a second, his girl was tightly in his arms crying joyfully. 

"I couldn't go." She cried as he kissed her face repeatedly. "I was there and it just felt so wrong and I...I just...I had to see you." 

"I'm sorry I said all those things to you." Brian said between kisses. "You are the most caring...selfless...beautiful...amazing woman." Every word was paused for a kiss and even with everyone watching neither had any intention of stopping. 

"Me and you baby." Skylar said grabbing his face tightly and kissing him like she had wanted to for weeks. 

"Me and you." Brian repeated pressing his forehead to hers. 

Every person in the office was on their feet, smiling at the two in the middle of the office. The women of the office were crying and the men were looking on in amazement. They had all seen these two from the beginning and their journey was nothing short of remarkable. Suddenly Brian heard someone clear their throat behind him. "Q." Joe said placing his hand on his friend's shoulder. He then pulled out the ring box from his pocket, "That perfect moment you've been waiting for..." 

"Yeah?" Brian responded smiling at the ring in Joe's hand. 

"I think you found it." Joe whispered handing Q the ring box then stepped back into the crowd again. 

Brian squeezed the box tightly taking a couple deep breaths. This was it. He turned back to Skylar then instantly dropped to one knee. "Oh my god." Skylar said breathlessly putting her hands to her mouth in disbelief. 

"Skylar..." he began then took a second to look around the room at everyone staring. Then not being able to help it he laughed, "This is not how I pictured doing this." Skylar laughed through her tears at the statement. "But in a way...it's pretty perfect." Brian continued. He tried to remember everything he had written down but nothing was coming to him at the moment, he was going to have to wing this proposal. 

"You came into my life like a hurricane, completely flipping it upside down. Made me question everything I once thought I knew."

As Q talked, Joe quietly FaceTimed his wife. When she answered he quickly put his finger to his mouth to quiet her and simply turned the camera so she could see what was happening. So as Bessy Gatto sat in her Long Island kitchen sipping coffee, she was able to witness her cousin's dream come true. 

"You are the most loving, caring, driven...stubborn....impatient...I mean you need things your way all the time...and are constantly breaking things....your hair clogs the drain all the time and NEVER once do you shut the porch light off EVEN when I ask...." Brian was then interrupted by Joe clearing his throat bringing him back to reality. "But the truth is, there is no me without you baby. We drive each other crazy, say things we don't mean, and fight over the littlest things but I wanna do all that with you for the rest of my life." Skylar was giving out a mixture of laughs and cries at Brian's attempt at a perfect proposal but it was real and it was them. And when he finally opened that ring box showing her the most gorgeous diamond she had ever seen, she had to remember to tell her body to breath. 

"Skylar Thompson..." He said as his hand shook with nervousness and anticipation. 

"Yes?" She answered smiling. 

"Will you marry me?" He asked smiling even bigger than she was. 

"Yes!" She shouted immediately bending down to kiss his lips over and over again. "I love you I love you I love you." She kept saying between kissing. 

Finally coming up for air she looked around at everyone cheering and clapping for them. "You want the ring or what?!" Chá yelled out pointing at poor Brian still kneeling with the thing in his hand. 

"Oh!" She exclaimed laughing having forgotten all about it for a minute being so caught up in the moment. 

Brian just shook his head throwing his arms up in defeat as he laughed. "She bitched about this stupid ring for months!" He yelled over the laughter as he slipped it on her finger...finally. 

Skylar took a second to admire it, moving her hand from side to side. "I can't believe it." She whispered as he stood up then pulled her in for several more kisses. "This is where I belong." She added. 

"It most certainly is. I'm never letting you go again." He whispered back.

No one could be contained another second and it didn't take long for many of the women in the office to attack. "And here come the wolves!" Brian shouted jumping on a nearby chair as he was pushed out of the way by Chá. As Skylar gushed with everyone showing off her new ring Brian slinked back over to the other Jokers and friends. "I can't believe it, I honestly just can't believe it!" Sal said stunned. 

"Congratulations buddy!" Murray said giving Q the biggest hug. 

"Officially familia!" Joe said next laughing. "Oh and say hi to Bessy!" He said holding up the phone that was still on the call. 

Q waved blowing a kiss to a balling Bessy who was insisting on getting Skylar on the phone.   
"Hey!" Brian yelled over the commotion, "Future Mrs. Quinn?" 

"That's me!" Skylar smiled practically jumping up and down at being called that. 

"Get over here and say hi to your cousin will ya?" He ordered watching as she quickly made her way over to him. As the couple went on to celebrate with so many people they loved, in the back of their minds they knew one in particular was missing.


	29. Update on New Stuff

Hey all!! In addition to adding to ongoing stories and the new Maren/Brian story. I’m collaborating with Hopedanglesonastring for a fun new project. Remember those books you read where it would have you choose an option then switch to that page to see what would happen. Well this is what we are going to try. A new story is published called “Crossing Paths” and it features a new character. You have 48 hours after it is posted to vote on what you would like to see happen. A way to get more involved. I hope you will check it out!! Thanks for all the continued love and support!


	30. Off the Market

"We'll be down in a minute!" Brian called over his shoulder as he watched everyone file out of the office. No more work was being done today at the IJ office now that Skylar and Q were officially engaged. There was only one thing on everyone's mind...celebrating. 

Sal had a pretty good idea what the couple was up to and decided to give them some time to themselves. "Meet us down at the 169, I have a friend down there and called ahead to tell them a bunch of us where coming!" He yelled back. "Get your quickie in then get down there!" He then watched the two slink into Q's office shutting the door behind them loudly. 

Sal laughed as he saw Joe shaking his head in disgust. He was never gonna love the thought of Q having sex with Bessy's little cousin. 

In Brian office Skylar had pushed him up against the door once they shut it and attacked his lips immediately. Their mouths opened and their tongues tangled together in an intense make-out session. Skylar moaned into each kiss raking her fingers over the back of his neck. 

"I wasn't kidding..." Brian said breaking away from her momentarily, "I'm never letting you go again." He then went back to kissing her as he picked her up to set her down on his desk.   
As he looked on at the woman that he loved and was planning on making his wife, sitting on his desk breathless he felt his pants begin to tighten. Sal was right, this was gonna be quick but definitely needed. "You're so fucking beautiful." He growled as he began pulling at her shirt. 

"We need to call your parents." She mumbled against his lips. 

Brian stopped immediately and sighed. "Just a little tip baby...let's not mention my parents when I got a raging hard on. Kinda kills the mood." He pouted. 

Skylar giggled as she kissed his soft pouty lips. "I'm serious. We should call them right now." She said as she hopped off the desk. 

"Wha..what just happened?" He asked. Two seconds ago he was getting ready to fuck this girl on top of a desk. 

"There will be plenty of time for that." She laughed. "Come on!" She insisted holding out her hand, "We need to tell them before people start posting stuff on social media and they find out another way."

Brian sighed heavily out of pure sexual frustration. Weeks without Skylar paired with just being all over each other 45 seconds ago wasn't helping the situation but she had a point. Everyone, his mother in particular, would be crushed if they heard this news from anyone besides him. 

Luckily, thanks to her grandchildren, his mom had just mastered how to FaceTime so Brian held the phone up as he placed the call. Skylar dipped out of the shot for a second wanting to surprise her future mother-in-law since according to Carol Quinn, Skylar was currently on a plane to China still. 

"Hi sweetie." Carol answered the phone taking a seat on her living room couch. She looked away from the screen for a second. "James turn that down!" She barked at her husband about the TV volume. 

"Or you could just go in the other room." Brian's father responded rolling his eyes. 

"I said turn it down!" Carol yelled louder. 

"Umm..hello?? Mom!" Brian shouted on the other end. "I have something kinda important to tell you!" He said trying to get his mom's attention back. 

"Sorry honey, what are you saying? Your father needs that damn thing so loud." She said shooting her husband a dirty look. 

"Like I said, go in the other room and talk." James grumbled getting irritated by his wife. 

As Brian listened to his parents bicker like toddlers he was trying to figure why he was listening to this instead of having sex at the moment. "Guys!" He shouted over the chaos on the other end. "I have some news!" 

Carol shrieked when she saw Brian pull Skylar into the camera's view. "Skylar!! Oh my god honey!" Tears of happiness immediately started pouring from the older woman's eyes.

"And...." Skylar said then held up her left hand to the camera revealing the massive diamond that now lived on her finger. 

"Ahhh!!" Carol screamed, "Oh my god! Finally!!"

Brian and Skylar were both laughing seeing his mother's reaction. He couldn't think of a time he had ever seen her so over the moon. Carol then proceeded to ask 101 questions about how, where, and when he proposed and was glowing listening to Skylar tell the story. 

"So now what are you going to do about Shiloh?" Carol asked now that their relationship was once again secure.

The couple exchanged glances before answering. Neither had spoken about the little girl yet but she was certainly not far from either of their minds. "We're gonna figure all that out very soon." Brian answered for the both of them. 

"Well expect me up for a visit this weekend!" Carol exclaimed, "And I'll be sure to bring plenty of bridal magazines!" She added. 

Brian couldn't help but internally roll his eyes, they were literally engaged for less than an hour and his mom was already in full planning mode. 

"Alright I'm off to make phone calls!" She gushed. "I love you both!" 

"We love you." Skylar smiled. 

"Bye Ma." Brian waved. Once they hung up he turned to his new fiancé, "You know before this day is over, the entire tri-state area is going to know we're engaged." He said making Skylar laugh. 

"Were you serious before about talking to a lawyer about Shiloh?" Skylar asked. 

"Yup. He said we have a good chance at fighting this." Brian responded. 

"What do we have to do?" She asked. 

"There's gonna be a lot of paperwork and hearings." He responded. "But..." He said grabbing her sparkly left hand smiling down, "Let's celebrate this tonight and then figure all that out tomorrow." 

"Deal." Skylar smiled holding her hand up once again to the light admiring the diamond.   
________________________________  
"Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god!" Skylar heard a voice coming through the crowd of 169. She then saw Bessy Gatto come barreling through the bar running straight towards her. 

"What the hell?!" Skylar yelled with laughter. 

"I called a sitter immediately!" She answered, "I was not missing this!" She then quickly grabbed at Skylar's hand admiring the ring. "Holy shit!" She cried out. It was even more beautiful that Bessy remembered now seeing it actually on Skylar's hand. After giving her husband a quick kiss and Q a giant hug, she shooed them away. "Tell me everything!" She demanded over the moon excited that Skylar was not moving away.   
________________________________  
Drinks were flowing and friends were still pouring in. Word was spreading quickly that Brian Quinn was finally an engaged man. Skylar had just finished telling Bessy everything about her morning at the airport.   
"So you just knew you weren't supposed to get on that plane?" Bessy asked. 

"I think I knew all along but then when Brock kissed me..." she started to say. 

Brian who was half listening to their conversation and half carrying one on with Sal and Casey immediately turned around after hearing that. "That asshole kissed you?" 

Bessy and Skylar exchanged uneasy looks. They didn't know he had been listening. "How many times did I tell you that guy had a thing for you?" He asked. "I'll fucking kill him." 

"Well he's half way to Beijing right now, so you're gonna have to go a long way for that." Skylar said trying to bring her man back down to earth. 

"What you do when he kissed you?" Brian asked.

“You really wanna know?” She responded. 

“Yeah I really do.” Brian answered feeling his temper start to flare. If Skylar said she kissed him back, he wasn’t sure what he was going to do. 

“I slapped him so hard across the face, the bartender in the lounge bought my drink. Said it was the best thing he’d ever seen.” She smiled pridefully. 

“That’s my fucking girl!” Brian laughed pulling his future wife in for a long sloppy kiss.


	31. I Hate This Place

It felt like forever, Shiloh had lost all hope that Skylar and Brian were coming back for her. Everyday she tried to figure out what it was that she did wrong.  She had this big birthday party with friends, presents, cake...everything she had heard of when people talked about birthday parties so why was she back in this awful place. Her scary dreams of the bad man were back and worse than ever and she was wetting the bed every night again. Little Shiloh never felt so scared and upset in her life. She finally thought she had found a family and it was ripped away from her and she didn't even know why. 

She now shared a room with two other girls who made fun of her and complained to the adults that they were tired of their bedroom smelling like pee. Shiloh was embarrassed and hated that the older kids were back to picking on her. It was like she never left. Her only saving grace was Ms. Krystal and tonight she was helping Shiloh in the bath. 

"Ms Krystal?" Shiloh asked as the water started to fill the tub. 

"Yes lovebug?" Krystal responded using her nickname for the little blonde girl. 

"When can I talk to Brian and Skylar again?" She asked. 

Krystal took a deep sigh, "Honey honestly I don't think you will be." 

"But why?" Shiloh began crying. "I miss them." 

Krystal hated this whole situation. She knew that those two were the best fit for Skylar even though they weren't one hundred percent honest on the application. In her opinion it was irrelevant compared to the tremendous work they had made with Shiloh. In the few years that Krystal worked at St. Elizabeth's she had witnessed Shiloh go to a number of different foster families and it was always the same result, no one could get a handle on her. She was never in a foster home for longer than a couple weeks so when Krystal saw how long Shiloh had stayed with Skylar and Brian she was simply amazed. Add in the fact that she was doing exceptional in school and they had gotten one of the best child physiologists for her, it was clear that a silly white lie wasn't what should be important. 

"And I'm sure they miss you too Lovebug..." Krystal responded as she checked the water temperature one last time, "And it's too much to explain honey but believe me, it has nothing to do with them not wanting you. Okay?" She smiled sadly. The last thing Krystal wanted Shiloh thinking is that her former foster parents didn't want her anymore just like all the others. 

Shiloh rubbed her nose with the back of her hand and sighed sadly. "Samuel is being mean to me again." 

Krystal rolled her eyes as she gently washed the little girl's hair. It was certainly easier to do now that she had come back with it shorter. Samuel would never leave Shiloh alone and it was so frustrating. He was all of 11 years old and just angry. No matter what punishments her and the other directors of the house gave Samuel for bullying he just wouldn't quit. "I'll talk to him Shiloh. But remember what I told you about bullies. Best way to handle them is to just ignore them."   
________________________________  
Shiloh got back to her room after her bath. The other girls she shared a room with were playing with a couple old Barbie dolls. Her and Milana would sit in the yard and have so much fun with all her Barbies. She had everything imaginable for them; cars, houses, a boat, and horses for them to ride. It was so much fun when she got to play with Milana. She was truly the first friend Shiloh ever had. 

Shiloh didn't even bother asking if she could play she knew what the answer would be. Looking towards her bed she noticed something, or it should be said she didn't noticed something. Rizzo was gone. She had left him right on her pillow when Ms. Krystal said she needed a bath. "Where's Rizzo?!" She asked the other girls. 

"Who?" Maddie, one of the other girls asked annoyingly. 

"My koala!" Shiloh answered flipping her blanket over hoping to find him. 

"You mean that gross thing actually has a name?" Jenna, one of the other girls, laughed. 

"He's not gross! And he's mine! Where is he?!" Shiloh shouted in their faces turning bright red. 

"Calm down you psycho!" Jenna said rolling her eyes, "We didn't take it." 

Shiloh began to cry hysterically at the thought of losing Rizzo. "Give me back my bear!" Shiloh yelled kicking the dollhouse over. 

"Hey!!" The girls screamed, "Don't do that!" 

"I want Rizzo!" Shiloh continued to scream as she began pulling at her own hair screaming at the top of her lungs. 

"SHILOH!" Ms. Joan shouted when she heard the commotion. However Shiloh wouldn't let up and continued throwing things and yelling. This was by far the worst tantrum they had seen since her return. 

"Everyone is so mean here and they keep taking my stuff! I hate you!" Shiloh screamed in a nasty voice at Ms. Joan. "You took me away, you made them get rid of me!" 

The program director snatched Shiloh up off her feet to prevent her from breaking anymore things. Typically they were not allowed to physically restrain children but in extreme cases like Shiloh they have done it. "I have had it with your outbursts young lady." 

"She's crazy, we can't share a room with her anymore!" Jenna said trying to pick up her destroyed Barbie dolls.

Krystal had heard the noise as well and made her way into the room. She knew Shiloh couldn't act like this but she also felt for the child, there was only so much an adult could take never mind a little girl. "Did you girls take her stuffed animal?" She asked. 

"No!" They all groaned in unison. 

It was then that they heard a snicker come from outside the room in the doorway. Samuel stood there looking pretty amused. "Samuel, did you take Shiloh's stuffed animal?" Krystal questioned knowing fully well he probably did. 

"It was just a joke, relax!" The boy laughed. 

"Give it back!!" Shiloh screamed from the corner of the room.

"Where is it?" Krystal demanded. 

"In the trash can in the common room. That thing really should be thrown out." Samuel answered rolling his eyes. 

"Two weeks in house suspension Samuel. Now go get it!" Krystal yelled over the noise. 

"Why?!" He said throwing his hands up, "It was just a joke!" 

"You wanna make it three?!" Krystal countered pointing to the hallway ordering him to go retrieve it.

"This is bullshit!" Samuel said slamming his fist against the wall. 

"Language!" Ms. Joan yelled finally stepping in. "Now go get Shiloh's toy please." 

"Everyone gotta treat her like gold now just because some famous guy fostered her for a couple months. Not like they kept her anyway." Samuel spat as he went down the hall. 

Shiloh's eyes began tearing up at the mention of Brian and Skylar. Krystal's blood boiled at the older boy taking such a low blow at a little girl. "GO!" She yelled, "I'm not kidding Samuel, cut it out!" 

"Well is something gonna happen to Shiloh for breaking our stuff?!" One of the girls spoke up. 

"Two weeks in house suspension for Shiloh as well." Ms. Joan answered. Krystal whipped her head around at her boss. She was in disbelief at such a harsh punishment. Shiloh was going through a lot. Didn't she understand this? Suddenly the old stuffed koala bear came flying into the room. Shiloh immediately picked it up hugging it tightly. She already lost everything else important to her, she couldn't bare loosing the last connection to her mommy.  
_______________________________  
"Yes??" Joan snapped when she looked up from her desk and saw Krystal enter her office. They had just finished lights out for the younger kids and had an hour before the older kids were expected in bed. 

"I think two weeks in house for Shiloh is a little much. I think you should reconsider." Krystal said. She knew questioning her boss was out of line but she couldn't keep silent. 

"She is out of control. She needs to control these outbursts. Those girls did nothing wrong and Shiloh broke their things. It's not acceptable." Joan snapped. 

"Can't you cut the kid a break? She just got ripped out of the only happy home, she had ever been in." Krystal blurted out not thinking. 

"You are skating on very thin ice." Joan warned. "You know what happened, I had to take her back."

"I know but can't you just reconsider the punish...." Krystal began to say when Joan's office phone rang. 

Joan held her finger up signaling Krystal to stop talking and answered. "Hello?....What?! You're kidding. Alright thanks. Yup...bye." Joan slammed down the phone and looked up at her employee. "Seems like Shiloh's former foster parents hired an attorney and are requesting a re-evaluation of Shiloh's guardianship. We're going to court."


	32. Plea For Help

Skylar woke up like she had every morning for the past week in the arms of her fiancé. Brian was being extra romantic since they reunited and got engaged. She carefully rolled over and noticed he was still asleep so she very lightly brushed her lips against his, she just couldn't help it. Every night this week they made up for lost time and had fun doing it. "Good morning." He said in a very scratchy tired voice against her kiss. 

"Good morning." She giggled. With her hand resting on the pillow, the light coming through the window caused her engagement ring to shine brightly. Skylar smiled as she moved her hand from side to side. 

"Every time you look at that thing you get this goofy smile on your face." He commented. 

"Cause it's so damn beautiful!" She exclaimed. "And it means I get to keep you forever." She added kissing him again. 

"You ready for today?" He asked addressing the pink elephant in the room. 

"I am." She sighed nervously. 

"Hey." Brian said pulling her face to look at him. "Best we can do is try. This guy is supposed to be the best so let's trust him." 

Skylar loved that this man knew how to instantly calm her nerves. He always knew what to say and how to say it. "Stay in bed." She ordered as she hopped out of the king sized bed. "I'll start breakfast." Skylar bent down to pick her robe up off the floor and was confused when she felt it pulled from her hands. 

"I prefer my future wife preparing my meals naked." He said tossing the robe back to the floor. 

Normally Skylar would try to think of a smart ass comment to come back with but just having Brian call her his future wife made her giggly and she couldn't help but jump back on the bed to kiss him. For 6 straight days when he wasn't at work, all these two did was have sex. In bed, in the shower, on the couch, in the kitchen, in the laundry room, even pulling over for quickies on the side of the road when the mood hit them. It reminded both of them back to the time when they first started seeing each other and couldn't be in the same room for more than a few minutes without ripping one another's clothes off. 

Skylar immediately dropped herself on top of his waiting hardness and began rocking her body back and forth. 

"What happened to breakfast?" He asked as he closed his eyes when he felt Skylar tighten around him. "Shit..." he moaned. 

"It can wait." She managed to say before letting out a cry of pleasure as she played with her own tits, something her man always loved to see. 

"So fucking good." Brian groaned in ecstasy reaching around Skylar's body to spank her as she rode him fast and hard. 

" I missed your cock inside me" She admitted, "Every fucking night I wanted you so bad." She would never tell him but deep down inside when they were apart she prayed he hadn't reverted back to his old ways and started hooking up with other girls. 

"I thought about your sweet pussy every night." He confessed. Although heartbroken he was still a man and did find himself still looking back at old pictures and videos he always kept on his phone. 

"We were so stupid." She added feeling herself start to cum.

"So fucking stupid." He agreed as the feeling of release began taking over. 

Skylar saw his face begin to tightened and she knew he was close so she started fucking him faster and felt him start to lose control. "Oh fuck baby, yes." Skylar moaned as his cock hit her g-spot thanks to her bouncing on him as hard as she could. 

"Yes baby, I'm gonna cum. Oh fuck, yes baby like that." Brian cried out. No girl had ever fucked him on top like Skylar. She was without question the best in bed he ever had. He finally felt his balls tighten and within moments was shooting his cum out. "Oh yeah Lacey." He growled as he finished releasing. 

Skylar smiled as she leaned down to kiss him again. When they were alone her man would love reviving their past and bring in her alter ego. They laid there for a few moments contently until Brian spoke, "You getting started on that breakfast or what?" He asked slapping her ass again. 

Skylar rolled her eyes and let out a laugh, "Yeah yeah I'm on it!" She said hopping out leaving Brian to doze off again.   
________________________________  
It wasn't long before the smell of bacon was just too much and Brian was up heading down to the kitchen. Much to his disappointment Skylar was not naked but did opt for some tiny booty shorts and tight tank top. 

As he sat down at the breakfast counter Skylar placed a glass of iced tea in front of him. She moved around the kitchen shaking her ass a bit to antagonize him. Momentarily his gaze left her gorgeous ass and fell to a stack of bridal magazines his mom had brought when she, along with the rest of the family visited a few days ago. "I think she overdid it." He said pointing to the huge pile leaning against the fridge. 

"You knew she was going to." Skylar laughed as she flipped the pancakes. 

"She's really excited." Brian smiled. Carol Quinn had been on the subject of Brian proposing for over a year. 

"She called me yesterday still harping on is setting a date." Skylar said. 

"What you say?" Brian asked with a mouthful of toast.

"I said it wouldn't feel right without Shiloh there so we need time." Skylar responded, a sad tone making its presence.   
_______________________________  
Skylar's leg bounced up in nervousness as she sat in the waiting room of Attorney Garrison's office. Brian placed his hand on her knee to settle her. He was nervous too though. 

When the door opened an older man poked his head out. "Mr. Quinn, Ms. Thompson?" Skylar and Brian both rose to their feet. "Sorry to keep you waiting, come on in." He smiled. 

As the couple took their seats in his office he smiled at them, "I hear congratulations are an order." He said. "My wife is a fan, she follows you both on social media." He laughed. 

Brian smiled at his future bride. Since they both posted their engagement to social media, everyone was going insane. Total strangers were coming up to him offering their excitement for him. He talked about the proposal a couple days ago when he recorded Tell Em Steve Dave. The look on Walt's face was probably the best thing he had ever seen. 

"So I went over all the information you've give me." Attorney Garrison started. "I filed for a hearing in New Jersey and working on getting a subpoena out for all of Shiloh's state records. I just need your signatures to be able to talk to Shiloh's teacher and therapist here in New York. Having them talk about all of Shiloh's progress while she was with you will be critical."

Skylar and Brian were quiet as the attorney went into detail on the process. "Any questions so far?" He asked them both. 

"Is there anything we can do to help?" Skylar asked. 

"Actually if you can think of anyone else that might be good to speak about Shiloh's progress, it would be helpful. You will need as many people in your corner as possible." Attorney Garrison said.   
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"Go right." Skylar instructed as she sat in the passenger's seat of her fiancé's red Jeep Wrangler. 

"Huh?" He asked confused on why she was telling him to get on the ramp that lead to the Lincoln Tunnel. 

"I think I know someone that would be a big help." She said as she instructed Brian on where he was heading.   
________________________________  
It took some convincing through text as they took the trek to Jersey but Skylar was finally able to convince Krystal to a meeting at a pizza place around the corner from St. Elizabeth's. 

Skylar and Brian took a seat in a back booth waiting. About 20 minutes after they arrived a nervous looking Krystal walked in. She looked around to make sure no one from St. Elizabeth's was there and then made her way over to the last booth. "I told you when you texted me, this is a bad idea." She said in a harsh whisper. As she sat down. "I'll lose my job is anyone finds out I'm meeting with you." 

"Understood." Skylar answered sensing the woman's uneasiness. "We appreciate you meeting with us though." She said kindly trying to get this woman to let her guard down a bit. 

"You both have Joan on edge. The state is coming in demanding records on Shiloh's past foster families. Your attorney is asking for everything we have on her. Everyone is under strict instructions not to talk to anyone about Shiloh. Look I wanna help, really I do, but I also need my job." Krystal said expressing her feelings perfectly clear. 

"Listen..." Brian interjected, "You know this whole thing isn't right. A simple white lie on an application shouldn't have spiraled to her getting taken away." 

"That's not my call to make!" She exclaimed then immediately lowered her voice when she saw other customers staring. "What do you want from me?" 

"A letter stating how you feel Shiloh is better with us. You commented on her progress yourself." Brian responded. "If we had an actually employee of the adoption home in our corner at court, it would really help our case." 

"I'm sorry but..." Krystal started to say. 

Skylar suddenly reached her hand over squeezing Krystal's. It was obvious what they were asking would likely cost this woman her job but it was time for her final plea. "You love that little girl just as much as we do. You have seen her at her worst. And just like us, you have held her when she was screaming and crying for help and celebrated when she overcame obstacles." As Skylar talked she let down the floodgates she had been holding up and cried thinking about Shiloh. Krystal saw the pain in her eyes and began to cry herself. 

"Now legally I am not her mother but I have never felt anymore needed by someone in my whole life than I did when I held that little girl every night." Skylar continued. As she talked and broke down at this table, Brian sat silently in both heartbreak and amazement. From the very beginning Skylar could not have been anymore of a mother to Shiloh if they actually shared DNA. Fate was responsible for bringing them together and a moment of stupidity took her away. He didn't think Skylar would ever be the same if they didn't get her back. 

Krystal took a napkin from the holder and dabbed her eyes. "You are what's best for her, there's no doubt in my mind. I hope you win your case but I'm sorry I can't help you." 

As Krystal got up to leave, it was Brian's turn to grab her hand stopping her. "How is she?" He asked sadly. 

Krystal couldn't break these people's hearts and tell them Shiloh was back to her nightly terrors and being picked on constantly. She couldn't tell them that she cried for them every night still. Krystal took a deep breath and answered, "She's Shiloh, she's hanging in there the best she can."


	33. Speaking Out

Two months later: 

"I understand what you're saying Ma, but Skylar doesn't want to do anything wedding related until we have an answer on Shiloh. You're not gonna change her mind." Brian sighed into the phone. Their attorney had been hard at work building their case for permanent guardianship of Shiloh. A hearing in front of the judge was coming up soon and Skylar was incredibly uneasy. At this point it had been months since they had seen or spoken to Shiloh and they missed her terribly.

Carol Quinn let out a deep sigh. She was another member of the family that missed the little girl deeply however she was also being realistic and wanted Skylar and Brian to remember that they still had a wedding with or without Shiloh. Deep down she was fearful that losing any chance with regaining custody would spilt the two of them up again. "Brian just let me talk to her!" Carol exclaimed getting annoyed with her middle son. 

Brian groaned in defeat, he knew when he had pushed his mother too far. Walking over to Skylar he handed her the phone "Mom." He simply stated then walked off. 

Skylar knew exactly what her future mother in law wanted. "Hi Carol!" She smiled into the phone then prescinded to listen to her babble on about venues and theme ideas.   
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After close to an hour on the phone with Carol, Skylar headed upstairs. She found Brian sitting on the floor of Shiloh's old room. It was a room she had been avoiding since she had been back. "Hey you." She smiled sadly. 

"Hi." He replied leaning against the wall; he had found a plastic ball in the corner from a ball pit they had gotten Shiloh on her first weekend living with them. The look on her face when she saw it could only be described as pure joy. She sat in that thing for hours tossing the balls everywhere. Eventually it became more of an aggravation, Skylar and Brian tripping over them constantly and being woken up at 3am when the cats would start fighting over them. They must have both told her a thousand times to clean them up. However now sitting in this room, bouncing the small pink ball against the wall over and over again, Brian would give anything to trip over them again. "How'd the talk with my mom go?" He asked. 

"She's driving up Wednesday. I agreed to go look at wedding invitations. There's this stationary shoppe she keeps hearing about." Skylar answered. 

"Why would you look at invitations when there's no date yet?" Brian asked. 

"I'm just trying to make your mom happy. All I'm doing is looking." Skylar responded. 

"She thinks if we don't get Shiloh back, we're gonna breakup again." Brian said still focusing on the little ball he was tossing.

Skylar knew Carol thought this and as much as she loved Brian's mom, it bothered her that she thought this. Leaning down she brushed her lips against his for a light kiss. "You and I both know that's not gonna happen and that's most important." 

Brian smirked up at his fiancé then playfully pulled her down onto his lap. They sat in silence for a bit together until Skylar let out a soft laugh. "You still weren't able to get that off?" She asked pointing to the mixture of glitter glue and sharpie marks on the wall courtesy of Shiloh. 

"Damn kid." Brian laughed rolling his eyes. "I'm gonna have to repaint it. I was so pissed at her." He smiled recalling coming home from a long day of shooting and seeing Shiloh's "newest art project". 

"Yeah yeah..." Skylar bantered sarcastically, "But one look from those bright eyes and you fell apart. She had you wrapped around her finger since day one." She added nudging him playfully. 

"Not true!" Brian defended trying to act insulted. "I took away her tablet and she couldn't watch TV." 

"Right and then you took her out for ice cream!" Skylar laughed, "Way to stick to your guns tough guy!" 

As they sat snuggled on the floor laughing at their short yet crazy time with Shiloh, they prayed with everything that they would have her back in this room one day.   
___________________________________  
Judge Harrison looked at the clock and decided to call for lunch. "We will resume at 1:30." He said with a slam of his gavel. 

Skylar and Brian both took deep breaths as they rose from their chairs as the judge exited the room. So far it had been a long morning of talks and a lot of legalese. The attorneys that had been hired by the State of New Jersey and St. Elizabeth's were good and had their doctors evaluate Shiloh recently. It killed Skylar and Brian to hear updates on how poorly Shiloh's behavior was along with her mental state. One of their physiatrists gave a detailed summary of Shiloh's history recounting everything that she had witnessed between her parents and how they feel it effected her.  Brian strongly held Skylar's hand as she tried her best to hold in the tears.

Right before breaking Joan had recounted how she found out about the lie on the application and stressed how Shiloh shouldn't be placed with people that are so irresponsible they can't even be trusted on filling out paperwork. It was tough for the pair to hear but Skylar was relived when she felt her man squeeze her leg tightly under the table as a reassurance that they were in this together.  
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"Well that was intense." Brian said taking a deep breath once they had sat down at the restaurant across the street for lunch. Brian's parents and brothers were there as well for moral support as well as Joe and Bessy. The other jokers wanted to be there but under Brian and Skylar's attorney's advice he suggested it may look like a media stunt if they were all to attend. They understood and let Joe stand in for them and responded quickly to Brian's update texts. 

"It was but they haven't thrown anything at us that we didn't expect." Attorney Garrison spoke up. He then turned to Joe who was sitting across from him. "I'm gonna get you up there next, just go over everything we talked about earlier and we should be good." 

Joe nodded in agreement and was feeling hopeful that he was the one chosen to speak on Skylar and Brian's parenting.   
____________________________________  
At promptly 1:30, Judge Harrison reentered the court room. "Attorney Garrison, the floor is yours." He said. 

"Your honor, at this time I would like to call Joseph Gatto up to the witness stand. He is a long time family member who has witnessed the fantastic ability that Mr. Quinn and Ms. Thompson have with Shiloh. I feel he can speak to their character." 

After an encouraging smile from his wife Joe Gatto took a deep breath and approached the witness stand. Once he was sworn in, Attorney Garrison began. "Good Afternoon Mr. Gatto." 

"Good Afternoon." Joe nodded as he rubbed his sweaty palms on his khaki pants. He was nervous and wanted to make sure he said everything exactly how he was supposed to. 

"Exactly how long have you known Mr. Quinn and Ms. Thompson?" The Attorney asked. 

"Skylar I meant when I started dating my wife, her cousin. So over 10 years now. And Brian...oh man since we were 14, so close to 30 years." Joe answered. 

"What can you say about their characters? Good people you feel?" Attorney Garrison asked. 

"Both of those people would give the shirt of their backs for anyone despite their own struggles." Joe answered. 

"Struggles?" Attorney Garrison asked having already reviewed all of this with Joe beforehand. "Can you elaborate?" 

"Well Skylar lost her parents in an accident when she had just graduated from high school and Brian has suffered with different forms of depression for years. However they both overcame and have been successful." Joe went on. 

"You're a parent yourself aren't you Mr. Gatto?" The Attorney asked. 

"Yes sir. I have a daughter and son." Joe answered. 

"So you know what it takes to be a good parent, would I be correct to make that assumption?" He asked. 

"I'm not perfect but I'd like to think I'm a good father." Joe said with a soft laugh, his need to add humor to an awkward situation was a hard habit to break at the moment. 

"I'm gonna ask you this question as a parent, not as their friend or family member." Attorney Garrison emphasized. "What is your opinion on Mr. Quinn and Ms. Thompson has parents?" 

Joe thought before he answered. He has thought long and hard on how he was going to answer this question. "Honestly when I first found out they were going to foster a little girl, I thought they were insane." He said with a chuckle. "I mean neither had much experience with kids and it sounded like Shiloh was going to be a handful. However they excelled. Skylar switched her whole work schedule to care for Shiloh and make sure she was home more. Brian unfortunately didn't have that ability because our schedule is a bit more hectic but he called multiple times a day and talked about that child I think more than I talk about my own kids." He said smiling over at them. 

"So they cared for her well?" Attorney Garrison asked. 

"More than well. She certainly was spoiled and I think given the start of her life, it was a good thing. But they also got her the best doctors, schooling, and were there when she was struggling." Joe answered. "Shiloh had some hard times and the patience I saw this couple have with her is something I don't think many could do." 

"Mr. Gatto, in your opinion where is the best spot for Shiloh to be?" Attorney Garrison asked. 

"Back with her parents, Brian and Skylar. 100 percent, no doubt in my mind." Joe responded this time looking up at the judge sitting to his right. 

Attorney Newman, the lawyer for St. Elizabeth's immediately rose. Unfortunately he was allowed to question Joe as well. "Mr. Gatto are you aware what Ms. Thompson did for a living between the years of 2016-2018?" He asked. 

"Yes she was an adult entertainer." Joe answered dryly. 

"A stripper." The Attorney clarified in a cocky tone. 

"Yes." Joe answered simply. 

"A profession in which she takes her clothes off for people?" The Attorney asked. 

"I'm sure everyone is familiar with the definition of a stripper Sir." Joe answered now annoyed. 

"Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't that where Mr. Quinn met Ms. Thompson?" The Attorney asked determined to try and damage Skylar and Brian's image. 

"Incorrect, they met on the set of Impractical Jokers. Skylar was an intern for school credit." Joe answered smuggly. 

"But didn't Mr. Quinn frequent the club when Ms. Thompson was working?" He asked Joe. 

Joe shrugged his shoulders, he knew he couldn't technically lie under oath but he knew what the Attorney was getting at. "I never went myself so you'd have to ask someone else that was there Sir." 

Back at the table, Skylar was shifting from side to uncomfortably. She hated her past with stripping coming up especially in front of Brian's family and Bessy. Once again Brian settled his hand on top of hers to calm her. 

Attorney Newman realized he wasn't getting anywhere and decided to move on. "Mr. Quinn has made it known publicly that he never wanted children. Isn't that true?" 

"Yes but people's feelings change over time. Brian met Shiloh and..." Joe started to explain but was cut off. 

"I'm not asking over time, I'm just asking about what he has said in the past on your TV show and other interviews he has done." Attorney Newman stated. Joe shot a dirty look his way, not appreciating being cut off like just was. 

"Yes Brian has made those statements in the past." Joe sighed. 

Attorney Newman held up a piece of paper and read from it, "I know this is unpopular but I hate kids. Don't want them, just don't." He then smiled over at Brian arrogantly then turned his attention back to Joe. "Isn't this a direct quote from your TV from Mr. Quinn?" 

Joe knew where they was from. It was when he had the three others in a triple punishment hosting a baby class, Q wasn't happy about it and while mic'ed did say that. "Yes he said that but again..." 

"Thank you Mr. Gatto!" Attorney Newman interrupted again. "That's all I have." 

Joe was now furious as he watched the lawyer return to his seat. "With all due respect to you Attorney Newman and to you, Your Honor..." He said addressing the judge respectfully. "I don't appreciate being cut off every time I go to finish my answer. "Yes, Brian never wanted kids before. And Yes, Skylar may have stripped for a living but that was to pay her way through college instead of giving up and settling. She wanted to better herself and isn't that what makes a great parent? Wanting the absolute best for your kid?!" 

"Mr. Gatto, I said I was finished!" Attorney Newman cried out. 

Judge Harrison held up his hand, "I'll allow Mr. Gatto to speak freely. Go ahead." 

"The thing is, we have been sitting here all morning listening to doctors and teachers talk about Shiloh like she is some unstable child. The fact is they spend very little time with her." He then pointed to the table that Brian and Skylar were sitting on. "Those two people over there have sacrificed everything for that little girl. Never once have I seen this unstable child that everyone is talking about. That's because when she is with those two, she feels safe and happy. She gets to be a kid, something she never felt like before. Shiloh has become best friends with my kids, again something she never had before in St. Elizabeth's or foster homes. I have seen Skylar put her career on hold for Shiloh. I have seen Brian come into work brutally exhausted because he was up with Shiloh all night after a nightmare. They are parents and I'm sorry but it just isn't right that their kid was taken away."

"Thank you Mr. Gatto." Judge Harrison thanked as Skylar and Brian silently mouthed 'thank you' to their dear friend. Removing his glasses the old judge pinched the bridge of his nose deciding on his next move. He took a deep breath and then looked up to address the room. "Now with the child being so young, typically I do not ask to speak with someone her age..." He then paused to collect his thoughts giving it one finally consideration. "However it seems Shiloh is a very bright child and it goes without saying has experienced more than any child should at her age. So I am going to have a sit down with her in my chambers later this week to see her feelings on the matter." 

Attorney Newman rose from his seat, "Objection!" He shouted, "Your honor you can't possibly think such a small child should be allowed to make the choice on where she gets to go!" 

"If I am going to have to decide on the placement of a child, I would like to have a small chat with her and that's final Mr. Newman!" The judge barked not appreciating his order being questioned in his own courtroom. 

Quietly down in front the court clerk received a call from downstairs. She whispered in the phone and then hung up. The clerk rose from her seat, "My apologies Your Honor, but downstairs just phoned up and it seems there is one more person that would like to be heard on the matter." 

"They on their way up?" The judge asked. 

"Yes, Your Honor." She replied. 

Glancing at the clock to check the time, Judge Harrison nodded, "Ill allow one more to speak." 

Skylar and Brian's hearts were pounding. They had no idea who could possibly want to be heard and was it on their behave or against them?

Several minutes later, the courtroom doors opened and not only were Skylar and Brian shocked at who walked in but so was Joan from St. Elizabeth's. When Joan saw her employee, Krystal, walk in she was stunned. "Before you fire me for being here, I just want to tell you I quit. This is wrong Joan and it's time Shiloh goes home where she belongs." 

"Miss, May I ask who you are and how you pertain to this case?" Judge Harrison interrupted. 

"My name is Krystal Miller. I’ve worked at St. Elizabeth’s for six years and have cared for Shiloh her entire time there. I need to explain how desperately Shiloh needs these two people sitting here today.” She said looking over at Brian and Skylar who couldn’t believe their eyes at the moment.


End file.
